RELIGIOUS Q&A

 

The Golden Rule: Does the pro-choice position uphold or violate it?
The Golden Rule or ethic of reciprocity is:

- Positive form:   "Do to others as you would have them do to you" or…

- Negative form:  "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you."

 

The double-standard is revealed by asking pro-choice advocates - and even ourselves - this one question, "Are we glad to be alive?"

 

If so, we are glad for ourselves to not have been aborted by our mothers. Although we didn't choose to be born nor did we have any say in the matter, we're still glad for the opportunities life has given us: to be born, to grow and develop, and to enjoy our life experiences, careers, families, etc....basically, thankful to be alive rather than killed by abortion.

 

We may also have been born at a time when our mothers were poor, young, single, or in the midst of getting an education, or a host of other pursuits which were interrupted by our coming. Yet, all of those considerations do not dampen our gladness for ourselves to have been born into this world.

 

So how can we not be glad for others to be given the same opportunities? Similarly, President Ronald Reagan once said, "I've noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born." (Presidential campaign debate, 21 September, 1980).

 

For those students who are debating the topic of abortion in their classes, we recommend taking a quick poll by the raising of hands and asking the class, "How many of you wish you were aborted?"

 

Why are Christians obligated to speak out against abortion?

The following verses are general guidelines given to all believers:

 

James 4:17: "Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins."

God gives us opportunities to do good works daily - to use our abilities, talents, etc. to carry out His will. God even gave us our lips and speech to speak out against evil. When we don't take our God-given abilities to do those "good" things which He has entrusted to us, we have fallen short of our obligation.

 

Psalm 82:3-4: "Vindicate the weak and fatherless; do justice to the afflicted and destitute. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them out of the hand of the wicked."

 

Proverbs 24:11-12: "Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter. If you say, “Behold, we did not know this,” does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who keeps watch over your soul know it, and will he not repay each man according to his work?"

 

We must protect the innocent and helpless from injustice - this is our fundamental duty, not just as Christians, but as responsible citizens in general.

 

Furthermore, we cannot claim ignorance of the evil of abortion - an injustice which pervades our society and which we hear of almost daily - because God knows and examines our heart. He knows that we know.

 

Exodus 1:17-2: "But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive. So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, “Why have you done this thing, and saved the male children alive?” And the midwives said to Pharaoh, “Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; for they are lively and give birth before the midwives come to them.” Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God, that he provided households for them."

God uses anyone, believers and nonbelievers, to do His will in protecting the most helpless in our world - children. And more specifically, newborns, in the case above. He also rewards those who risk much to help others. The Egyptian midwives could conceivably have been executed by the Pharaoh for not following his orders. But they feared God more than man - a lesson in courage for all of us.

 

Matthew 25:37-40: "Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’"

 

Matthew 25:44-45: "They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’"

Who are "the least"? Those in our society who are marginalized – such as the unborn. Jesus clearly considers kind acts done to others on His behalf, as having been done directly to Him. And the same goes for our neglect of our duty to help "the least of these".

 

James 2:14-26: "What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works."

If we have faith, our works will show it. This only makes good sense. Although we are not saved by our works, our faith is nonetheless validated by our works. If we say we're against abortion but do nothing, this does no good and...this doesn't make any sense either.

 

How can the Bible be against abortion if the word 'abortion' isn't even in the Bible?

"Abortion" isn't mentioned in the Bible for the same reason "email" isn't mentioned.

But the Bible does speak on the sanctity of human life and the seriousness of killing a helpless and innocent human being. Here are some points to consider:

 

1) God is the exclusive Author and Creator of each individual - both body and soul

Abortion literally tears apart a body which was carefully and painstakingly created by God - a body created with more care and love than the creation of animals. Each individual is extremely precious in God's sight, even prior to birth.

 

In Psalm 139:13-14, the author (David) speaks to God and says: "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

No natural, mindless process (theory of evolution, natural selection, etc.) is mentioned as the creative force behind our existence. God is the One and Only Creator. This verse ends with a humble acknowledgement of God's incredible and creative work in us - a universal truth made known through the conscience, even to the most hardened individual who refuses to give God the credit.

 

2) All humans are created in God's image

This sets us apart from the animal kingdom. Genesis 1:26-27 says: "Then God said, 'Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground. So God created mankind in His own image, in the image of God He created them; male and female He created them."

The honor that comes with being created in God's Image was given only to mankind - and to no other part of His creation.

 

Abortion destroys the body of an unborn child created in the Image of God. Any human being, no matter how small or whatever age of development, is a creature bearing the "Image of God". The Bible does not place any limit or circumstance under which a human should not be considered an "Image of God", such as age, developmental stage, size, abilities or lack thereof, etc... Even the angels were not created in God's Image - only mankind was created in His Image. Therefore, all humans possess dignity and value and are of great worth in God's sight and deserve to be treated as such.

 

This is in direct contrast to atheism which states there is no God, and Darwinism which teaches that humans are nothing more than animals which evolved from a primordial collection of atoms. The Bible raises the dignity of man; atheism and Darwinism cheapens it:

 

"Human life is sacred only if there is a God to sanctify it. Otherwise man is just another collection of atoms and can be treated as such.” (Ref: Robert R. Reilly, “Atheism and Arms Control”, Intercollegiate Review, Fall 1988).

 

"Some of the ideas being promoted today by prominent Darwinists in the name of Darwinism have an eerily similar ring to the ideologies that eroded respect for human life in the pre-Nazi era." (Ref: "Darwin and the Nazis", Richard Weikart (History professor at CSU), American Spectator, April 16 2008).

 

"Darwinism undermines both the idea that man is made in the image of God and the idea that man is a uniquely rational being. Furthermore, if Darwinism is correct, it is unlikely that any other support for the idea of human dignity will be found." (Ref: "Created from Animals", James Rachels, 1990)

 

"In the world of Darwin, man has no special status other than his definition as a distinct species of animal. He is in the fullest sense a part of nature and not apart from it. He is akin, not figuratively but literally, to every living thing, be it an amoeba, a tapeworm, a flea, a seaweed, an oak tree, or a monkey—even though the degrees of relationship are different and we may feel less empathy for forty-second cousins like the tapeworms than for, comparatively speaking, brothers like the monkeys." (Ref: "The World into Which Darwin Led Us", George Gaylord Simpson, Science, vol. 131, 1960).

 

3) God loves humans more than any other part of His creation  

The value of one human soul is greater, in God's view, than the value of the whole universe and all of its contents combined.

Romans 8: 37-40: "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

 

1 John 4:7-11: "Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us."

 

John 15:12-17: "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you."

 

4) Children are of great worth in God's sight

This is contrary to the pro-choice movement where the needs of adults - even selfish desires - trump the very life of the unborn AND newborn child:

Psalm 127:3: "Behold, children are a gift of the Lord."

Prov. 17:6: "Grandchildren are the crown of old men."
Mat. 10: 14: "Permit the children to come to me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."
 

Mat. 10:15: "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it at all. And he took them in his arms and began blessing them, laying his hands upon them.”

 

The verses above show it is natural for us to have affection for our children. However, the Bible has also foretold of a future time when people would be unloving and lack any natural affection for others, including their own children.

 

2 Timothy 3:3: "Without natural affection, truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good..."

 

A contemporary example of being "without natural affection" and viewing children as a “punishment” rather than a blessing, a U.S. President recently advocated for the freedom to kill and abort his own grandchildren while discussing the future sex lives of his two underage daughters. In 2008, Barack Obama said:  "I’ve got two daughters, 9 years old and 6 years old. I am going to teach them first of all about values and morals. But if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby."

 

5) All humans are created as moral creatures by God

This also sets us apart from the animal kingdom. In all of God's Creation, we represent the pinnacle of morality - although now in a fallen state. We are moral creatures in that:

 

(a) God has imparted to each of us an intellectual understanding of morality; right and wrong, etc…

 

(b) We are inherently moral creatures simply because we were created in God's Image. This includes the unborn child. Regardless of whether we are too young or immature to understand or verbalize moral principles or not, we are still moral creatures in our essence. Once again, the Bible does not place any limit or circumstance under which a human would not be considered a moral creature - we don't slowly become moral creatures over time or cease to be moral creatures at any point.

 

God's Law, as embodied in the Ten Commandments, is made known to us through our conscience. This is why unrelated human cultures from various places and times honor the same moral laws, such as telling the truth rather than a lie, not stealing, not killing each other without a just cause, etc.. Romans 2:15 says: "They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness..."

 

Although the specific details and meaning of the "Image of God" are not given in the Bible, the balance of Scripture points to our conscience and moral accountability as a major part of "His image" which separates us from the animals, which God also created but on a separate day of Creation, for man to care for.

 

However, the Bible also mentions the "seared conscience", a conscience which has been hardened or numbed and no longer operates properly. 1 Timothy 4:1-2 says: "The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron."

 

This explains how some cultures have eventually come to tolerate adultery or even murder. However, intentionally suppressing their conscience does not nullify their accountability to God because His Law was originally "written on their hearts" through their conscience.

 

Likewise, those who justify the killing of innocent unborn children on the legal grounds of Roe vs. Wade are intentionally suppressing their own conscience containing the Law of God which says: "You shall not murder".

 

6) Our knowledge of the principles of justice has been imparted to us by God

This should come as no surprise since the Bible says God loves two things very much: mankind and justice. Unfortunately, we often intentionally suppress this knowledge of justice for our own selfish interests.

 

We are the only creatures to understand the very complex concept of justice, that is:

 

a) Conformity to law

b) Punishment proportionate to the offence

c) Administration of law according to a set of known and accepted principles.

 

This is why throughout history, all human civilizations have had systems of justice (courts, appointed judges, etc.) containing complex codes of law not found anywhere in the animal kingdom.

 

Chimpanzees, dolphins, and even dogs may occasionally exhibit acts of altruism or fair play, but those qualities don't even come close in comparison to the very sophisticated concept of justice. Any attempt to draw a parallel between the acts of altruism or fair play in animals with the extremely sophisticated and complex principles of justice found in human society, is a gross oversimplification.

 

Here are some verses regarding God's expectation of us in dispensing justice and those who make corrupt laws:

 

Leviticus 19:15: "Do not pervert justice; do not show partiality to the poor or favoritism to the great, but judge your neighbor fairly."
 

Deuteronomy 27:19: "Cursed is the man who withholds justice from the alien, the fatherless or the widow."

 
Isa. 5:20: "Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness."

 

Psalm 140:12: "I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy."
 

Proverbs 28:5: "Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the LORD understand it fully."
 

Proverbs 29:7: "The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the wicked have no such concern."
 

Isaiah 10:1-2: "Woe to those who make unjust laws, to those who issue oppressive decrees, to deprive the poor of their rights and withhold justice from the oppressed of my people, making widows their prey and robbing the fatherless."
 

Isaiah 51:4: "Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations."
 

Micah 6:8: "He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."
 

Zechariah 7:9: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another."
 

Matthew 23:23: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices-mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former."
 

Acts 17:30-32: "In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

 

7) Killing a moral creature has moral implications

This is why the legal term "murder' is used when someone intentionally kills another innocent human being. For no other living thing - not animals or plants - does the Bible use the term "murder" except in the killing of an innocent human being.

 

Exodus 20:13: "You shall not murder."

 

Leviticus 24:17: "And he that kills any man shall surely be put to death."

 

1 John 3:15: "Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him."

 

Revelation 21:8: "But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and fornicators, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."

 

8) The spilling of innocent blood is a murderous act for which God will hold us accountable

Deuteronomy 19:10: "Do this so that innocent blood will not be shed in your land, which the LORD your God is giving you as your inheritance, and so that you will not be guilty of bloodshed."

 

Exodus 23:7: "Keep far from a false charge, and do not kill the innocent and righteous, for I will not acquit the wicked."

 

Proverbs 6:16-19: "There are six things the Lord hates, seven that are detestable to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked schemes, feet that are quick to rush into evil, a false witness who pours out lies, and a person who stirs up conflict in the community."

 

Psalm 106:38-40: "They poured out innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was polluted with blood. Thus they became unclean by their acts, and played the whore in their deeds. Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people..."

 

Isa. 1:15-17: "I will hide my eyes from you, yes even though you multiply prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood. Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean. Remove the evil of your deeds from my sight. Cease to do evil. Learn to do good. Seek justice, reprove the ruthless. Defend the orphan."

 

Since the unborn child has done no wrong - simply by being conceived, killing them is the spilling of innocent blood for which we will be held accountable.

 

9) Preborn children possess personhood

This is shown by the account of the preborn John the Baptist in Luke 1:39-44: "At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy."

 

This passage shows us two important concepts:

 

a) The preborn John the Baptist is called a "baby" - the same term used for an infant. The Bible makes no differentiation between a child before or after birth.

 

b) Responding to the voice of another person, leaping for joy, and communicating that joy to his mother - all show characteristics of personhood.

 

Psalm 51:5-6 also shows personhood of the unborn child by using the personal pronouns "I" and "me" and possessive pronoun "my" for King David while in his mother's womb:

"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place."

 

10) God has plans for each individual even before conception

In Jeremiah 1:5, God speaks to Jeremiah and says: "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

Although this verse speaks specifically to the prophet Jeremiah, it shows in general, God has specific plans for everybody even before we're conceived.

 

This same truth is repeated in Psalm 139:16 where David speaks to God and says: "Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

Again, God has made specific plans for each individual - even before their existence. And as such, no human has the authority to change those plans - especially through the taking of an innocent life.

 

“There are no accidental children; only accidental parents.”  (Rick Warren, Senior Pastor, Saddleback Church)

 

For further study, please see the free online book titled "Love the Least (A Lot)" by Michael Spielman (www.Abort73.com).

 

11) Abortion is an act of aggression and murder against God

For every sin we commit against another human being, the offence is against God first and foremost, and secondarily against the other human being.

 

In the book of Acts, Chapter 5, a man lied to the leaders of the church. They, in turn, informed him that he had lied to God Himself.

Acts 5:1-5 says: "But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?... Why have you conceived this thing in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

 

Jesus explained this same principle to his disciples. In whatever manner we treat our fellow human being, we are extending that treatment to their Creator -that is, God himself.

Matthew 25:44-45 says: “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’"

 

God is the Creator of every unborn child - not the woman or man. So in getting an abortion, her sin is primarily against the Creator of her child, and secondarily against her child. This principle greatly amplifies and elevates our sins - from crimes against humanity - to crimes against God. To kill an innocent unborn child is to commit an act of murder directly against and in rebellion to God Himself.

 

12) Any act of sin, including abortion, encourages others to sin in likewise fashion

Ecclesiastes 8:11 says: "When a crime is not punished quickly, people feel it is safe to do wrong."

One of the reasons why millions of women choose abortion is because "others are doing it". Our sin emboldens others to do the same. Then, we become not only responsible for aborting our own child but also for encouraging others to abort their children. This also amplifies our accountability to God. CDC statistics also show that abortions have steadily increased over the years.

 

13) Abortion is an act of faithlessness

Whether our concerns in having a child are financial, physical, career-related, etc., we are acting as if God - the Creator of the Universe - cannot take care of us. So we take matters into our own hands and have our own child killed rather than trusting in God.

 

Hebrews 11:6: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."

We must stop trying to control the circumstances of our lives and let God turn things around for us. Testimonies abound of women who, in very difficult circumstances and under pressure to abort, kept their child and now have flourishing lives which God has blessed, all because they placed their faith in Him.

 

What does Exodus 21 Say about abortion?

Some Bible readers mistakenly believe Exodus 21:22-25 condones abortion although the passage actually says quite the opposite. There are two reasons for this error:

 

1) A few translations of the Hebrew Bible took the ancient Hebrew word which means "to come out alive" and erroneously translated it as "miscarriage" i.e. a dead baby. However, the normal Hebrew word for "miscarry" (used in Gen. 31:38; Exod. 23:26; Job 21:10; Hos. 9:14) is not used in this passage. Most ancient Hebrew experts now believe the situation described in verse 22 is a premature birth resulting in a live baby, not a miscarriage resulting in a dead baby.

 

2) Superimposing modern 21st Century Judaism's pro-abortion views onto the original ancient Hebrew text, resulting in a mistranslation of the original text.

The passage is as follows:

Exodus 21:22-25: "When men strive together and hit a pregnant woman, so that her children come out, but there is no harm, the one who hit her shall surely be fined, as the woman’s husband shall impose on him, and he shall pay as the judges determine. But if there is harm, then you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe."

The phrase "her children come out" is unfortunately mistranslated in a few Bible translations as "miscarriage" - i.e. a dead baby. Using this erroneous translation, the passage seems to imply that killing the unborn child only requires a monetary fine.

 

However, the proper translation of the original ancient Hebrew text refers to a live child which "comes out" - most commonly used to describe a live childbirth, not a miscarriage. Using this correct translation, the passage states a fine is required for a premature live birth but if the child dies or is injured, then " you shall pay life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe". The unborn child's life was so important that if the child died, the offender was put to death - the same penalty as for the death of an adult.

 

Fortunately, the vast majority of Bible translations today correctly use the phrase "gives birth prematurely" or "children come out" which more accurately reflects the original text instead of "miscarriage".

 

Here are some quotes regarding this passage by ancient Hebrew scholars:

 

Gleason Archer, PhD, Harvard University, Professor of Old Testament and Semitic Studies at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, stated:
"There is no ambiguity here, whatever. What is required is that if there should be an injury either to the mother or to her children, the injury shall be avenged by a like injury to the assailant. If it involves the life (nepes) of the premature baby, then the assailant shall pay for it with his life. There is no second-class status attached to the fetus under this rule; he is avenged just as if he were a normally delivered child or an older person: life for life. Or if the injury is less, but not serious enough to involve inflicting a like injury on the offender, then he may offer compensation in monetary damages..." (Ref: Gleason Archer, “Encyclopedia of Bible Difficulties”, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982).

 

Jack W. Cottrell, PhD, professor of theology at the Cincinnati Bible Seminary, stated: “There is absolutely no linguistic justification for translating verse 22 to refer to a miscarriage.” (Ref: Christianity Today, March 16, 1973).

 

Walter Kaiser, PhD, President Emeritus at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, Old Testament Scholar and Bible Translator, referred to the use of the term "miscarriage" in Exodus 21 as a "gross error” and stated: “The use of the term ‘child’ makes it clear that a human being is in view here”. (Ref: Toward Old Testament Ethics, Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Zondervan, 1983, p. 170).

 

John Hannah, PhD, professor of Historical Theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, stated: " . . . the unborn fetus is viewed in this passage as just as much a human being as its mother; the abortion of a fetus was considered murder" (Ref: “Exodus,” The Bible Knowledge Commentary, Victor, 1985, p. 141).

 

One final point: Exodus 21, by its context, is understood to be an unintentional or accidental injury. Modern abortion, on the other hand, is no accident but an intentional act of harm - in fact, premeditated murder. In this regard, there can be no legitimate use of this passage to justify abortion today.

 

For a more in-depth discussion:

 

Greg Koukl, "What Exodus 21:22 Says About Abortion", Stand To Reason (STR); http://www.str.org/articles/what-exodus-21-22-says-about-abortion

 

Wayne Jackson, "Does Exodus 21 Sanction Abortion?", Christian Courier; https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/786-does-exodus-21-sanction-abortion!