Abortion is not a game. And it is not a simple choice between deciding whether to have an abortion or not. Every abortion kills an innocent baby.

What is an abortion? In simple language, if you are female and pregnant, and you deliberately terminate your pregnancy before your baby can survive independently, you have caused an abortion.

If the baby dies accidentally — for example if the mother falls and the unborn baby dies accidentally — it is generally called a “miscarriage,” not an abortion.

What Christians oppose
Christians oppose the deliberate killing of the unborn baby when the mother's life is not in danger. Some pregnant women or girls have their unborn babies killed because they don't want the responsibility of looking after their child. Or they think that if the child lives they will have to give up their career. Or they think it will be too expensive. Or too time-consuming. Or too embarrassing. Or too much trouble.

So instead of allowing the baby to live and having it adopted out through a welfare agency, they have an abortion, which kills their child.

Killing the most defenceless humans
From a Christian view, deliberate abortion — except when the mother's life is in danger — is murder. That is why Christians are against it, even though governments in some parts of the world have legalized it. It is killing the most defenceless living beings by taking away their most basic human right: the right to life.

Is the unborn baby human yet?
Some people say an abortion is all right because you are not killing a living baby. They say the baby is not human until birth or until it is a certain age, and you are only removing unwanted tissue when you have an abortion. This is peer pressure at its worst.

Real babies are what grow in the mother's womb from the moment of conception.

Recent technology and microphotography have shown that the baby is a growing, living human right from the earliest stage. From the moment of conception you have all your genes and chromosomes, and all the “information” you need to direct your development. Sensible and responsible mothers avoid smoking, alcohol, drugs, and any other substances that may harm their baby.

Studies show a strong link between abortion and depression. A New Zealand study found that women who had abortions had more psychological problems and were three times more depressed than women who gave birth.

Isaac's story
Isaac's birth took place in England on a cold Christmas Day. He was sick, born premature, and everyone around him thought he was going to die. His father had died two months earlier, and his mother was having a hard time running the farm and looking after her new baby. And a war was raging around them.

Some people think it would have been easier for Isaac's mother if she had aborted Isaac. But his mother wouldn't consider it. And just as well for the world. Isaac grew up to be a scientific genius.

Isaac was the one who discovered the law of gravitation. He revolutionized mathematics by developing calculus. He improved the telescope. He became famous for his work in physics, mathematics, and astronomy. Isaac was the first person to receive a knighthood for scientific achievement. When he died in 1727 at the age of 84 the government honoured him by burying him in London's famous Westminster Abbey.

Yes, it might have been easier for his mother to abort the child who became Sir Isaac Newton, but the world would never have known the greatest scientist who ever lived. How many geniuses has the world lost through abortion? We will never know.

Unborn babies are living humans
The Bible clearly identifies the unborn baby as a living, human being. When the Virgin Mary was pregnant with Jesus she visited her cousin Elizabeth, who was herself six months pregnant with John the Baptist. The Bible says that when Mary arrived with the unborn Jesus inside her, John “leaped in her womb for joy” (Luke 1:41, 44). So John the Baptist was clearly a living, understanding person even before his birth.

Psalm 139 again makes clear that the fetus (unborn baby) is a human whom God loves. And God told the prophet Jeremiah, “before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). God had plans for Jeremiah even while he was in his mother's womb.

What if I have already had an abortion?
Even though surveys show that teens who go to church get into less trouble, it is sad to say that even some Christian women and teens have deliberately had their babies aborted. Other people may have talked some of them into it. Or they might have decided on this themselves because they didn't think they could look after the baby. Or maybe they didn't realize at the time that they were killing their babies.

The good news is that God can forgive an abortion like He can forgive any other sin, if you are willing to confess it to Him and ask Him for forgiveness. Everyone makes mistakes, sometimes deliberate mistakes, whether it is stealing, murder, greed, or whatever. The only way to get God's forgiveness is to confess your mistake to God in prayer. Tell Him you are sorry, ask His forgiveness, and ask Him to help you never to commit this sin again. His refreshing love will allow you to be born again. God will forgive you if you take the first step.

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TAKE 2 ......

The Bible and Abortion: What Does God Say?


Compiled by Doug Britton, MFT

Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers? (Job 31:15).

In some situations, an unplanned pregnancy can be one of the hardest things facing a woman or man. If you are in such a situation and wonder if you should have an abortion, I pray that the following verses from the Bible—God's Word—will help you make your decision, regardless of your religion. If you have had an abortion in the past, may these Scriptures help you come to a godly resolution.

God creates life.

What does Christianity say about abortion? The Bible does not use the word "abortion." But the Bible lets us know that every life is precious to God. He is the one who gave us life.

Jesus Christ, God's son, is pro-life. Read these Scriptures:

The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7).

You gave me life and showed me kindness, and in your providence watched over my spirit (Job 10:12).

Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. (Psalm 100:3).

Life is a gift of God.

• It should be cherished.

• It should be nourished.

• It should be protected.

God treats a fetus (baby) in the womb as a living person. The Bible does not use the terms "abortion" or "pro-life." But as the following Scriptures show, that does not mean Christians (or members of other religions) need wander what God thinks about unborn children or whether he considers a fetus a child.

Did not he who made me in the womb make them? Did not the same one form us both within our mothers?
(Job 31:15).

Yet you brought me out of the womb; you made me trust in you even at my mother's breast. From birth I was cast upon you; from my mother's womb you have been my God
(Psalm 22:9-10).

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. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. (Psalm 139:13-16).

This is what the LORD says—he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you... (Isaiah 44:2).

Listen to me, O house of Jacob, all you who remain of the house of Israel, you whom I have upheld since you were conceived, and have carried since your birth. Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you. (Isaiah 46:3-4).

And now the LORD says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honoured in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength. (Isaiah 49:5).

The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "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"
(Jeremiah 1:4-5).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! As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy" (Luke 1:41-42, 44).

God says murder is sin. (Abortion kills the fetus.) The Bible does not specifically use the word but it's clear about You shall not murder (Exodus 20:13).

God calls us to protect the defenceless, including children. One of the key themes throughout the Bible and historical Christianity is that we should be concerned about the welfare of the poor, weak, and helpless. Many Scriptures make this very clear. In addition to the following verses, read what James wrote in the New Testament about religion that is pure and faultless.

Although James was not writing about abortion, the principle is clear: We should be concerned about those who are unable to care for themselves. (James 1:27).

Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
(Psalm 82:3-4).

Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, "But we knew nothing about this," does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done? (Proverbs 24:11-12).

The Bible says God forgives those who had an abortion when they ask.
Everyone has sinned in many ways. Scriptures throughout the Bible reassure us of God's love for us and let us know that when we confess our sins, he forgives us and purifies us. Christianity is more than a religion, it is an opportunity to know God intimately. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin (Psalm 51:1-2).

Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:9-10).

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. (1 John 1:9-2:1).