Abortion: the Law, Facts, Risks, Ethics – and the Bible
The debate is not just about a woman’s rights, medical science, law, and situational ethics.
It also concerns absolute morality, as found in the Bible, and a person’s relationship to God
To her shame, the UK has now performed more than TEN MILLION abortions since abortion was legalised in 1967 [Right To Life, 2022]
See the sidebar for abortion statistics
Medical Definitions
Induced abortion: (as opposed to a miscarriage) is the intentional termination of a pregnancy before the fetus can live independently. Such an abortion may be elective (based on a woman’s personal choice) or therapeutic (to preserve the health or save the life of a pregnant woman).
Fetus: An unborn offspring, from the embryo stage (the end of the eighth week after conception, when the major structures have formed) until birth.
Human embryo: the developing organism from fertilization to the end of the eighth week.
Abortion Law
United States: In America abortion was illegal in the early 20th century, except in order to save the life of the mother. As of 2019, it was legal in all 50 states, through all nine months of pregnancy, for virtually any reason at all, link, although some states wished to pass laws prohibiting abortion [law.stackexchange.com], [abort73.com].
Israel: A 1977 law ensures low-cost (or free) legal abortion to any woman who meets one of several criteria, e.g. she is under 18, or her mental health would be damaged if she continued with the pregnancy, link. It is claimed Israel’s abortion law is now among the world’s most liberal. In 2014 the Israeli Knesset guaranteed free abortion procedures to any patients between the ages of 20 and 33, regardless of circumstance [timesofisrael.com].
European Union: The Law varies greatly across the EU’s 27 member states: ranging from a near-complete ban, allowing it only under certain conditions, putting legal restrictions on it, or allowing women free rein to choose whether or not to have an abortion. Poland has some of the most stringent abortion laws in Europe and only allows the procedure in cases of rape, incest or when the mother’s life in danger [CNN, 2020]. In contrast, abortion on request (where the decision is made by the woman alone) is legal in many EU countries e.g. Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy … [news.trust.org, 2020]
United Kingdom: In the UK abortion was a criminal offence in the 19th century, and was enshrined in the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (which is still in force). Then, in the early 20th century, the concept of legal exceptions was introduced under the umbrella of ‘preserving the life of the mother’, and ‘avoiding detrimental effects on a woman’s mental health’. These concepts were enshrined in the 1967 Abortion Act, which applies to England, Scotland and Wales. This Act did not legalise abortion, but it allowed for exceptions to the 1861 Act to the illegality of abortion.
A 1990 amendment to the 1967 Act gave grounds A-G for abortion, the legal upper limit for grounds C and D being 24 weeks, link. Officially, abortion needs the approval of two doctors, but in practice this rule has been relaxed, [Christian Concern]. In 2020, given Covid-19 the UK government sanctioned medication for home (DIY) abortions.
Since the 1967 Act the number of legal UK abortions have increased dramatically. In 2019 the UK had the highest number of abortions since 1967,[care.org.uk].
Kenya: Abortion in Kenya is regulated by Article 26(IV) of the Constitution of Kenya. As of 2020, it is not permitted unless there is need for emergency treatment, or the life or health of the mother is in danger, link (this is similar to the safeguards built into the UK 1967 Abortion Act). But CitzenGo claim that Marie Stopes, a multinational company running abortion centres in different parts of the world, has been advertising abortion-on-demand services under the cover of “prenatal care” in Kenya. As a result, abortion activities were subsequently suspended for gross violations of Kenyan law.
African countries like Kenya come under intense international pressure to adopt liberal abortion law – as in Kenya’s radical Reproductive Healthcare Bill, 2019 [righttolife.org.uk]
UK Abortion for ‘Social’ Reasons
Ground C of the amended 1967 UK Abortion Act allows abortion if there is risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman, ground E permits abortion if the child could be born seriously handicapped, and grounds F and G are emergency grounds to protect the woman. Some 98% of legal abortions in the UK are carried out under ground C, link, whilst the remaining abortions are essentially carried out under ground E.
Once again we highlight that the majority of abortions performed in the UK are covered, read ‘hidden’ under Ground C, which covers the mental health of the pregnant woman
ProLife Alliance, 2013
Such unbalanced statistics suggest that most abortions are carried out for ‘social-financial-career’ reasons (ground C). Statistically, it seems the rights of the mother usually trump the rights of the child. For instance:
It would be entirely reasonable for a doctor to decide that a woman who presents for an abortion saying that she cannot afford to continue the pregnancy can lawfully be provided with the abortion, as to refuse her might have relatively negative consequences for her health. link.
In fact, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) now views abortion as a ‘healthcare need’. Whilst proponents of the 1967 Act maintained that such procedures would only be in ‘extreme cases’, the passage of time demonstrates that UK abortion is now effectively available on demand (although there is still no legal right to abortion). Why shouldn’t the ‘healthcare need’ extend to cases where the parents claim they are incapable of caring for the child, or the child will have an inferior quality of life?
Cultural Attitudes
Historically, abortion was forbidden by the Sumerian Code (one of the earliest legal documents of the ancient world), and Roman law punished women for contraception and abortion. The early Church condemned abortion and regarded it as murder, link, and virtually all of Christendom held this view until the 20th century.
Today, ground F in UK abortion law states that abortion is legal to save the life of the woman. Whilst opposing abortion, many cultures reflect this particular concern for the life of the woman, as in Judaism, Islam, Buddhism and Sikhism, link. Even the Church of England recognises that there may be conditions under which abortion is ‘morally preferable’.
In the secular world there is significant support for legal abortion in all circumstances i.e. it’s the woman’s choice: 36% in the UK, 31% in the US and 40% in Germany support this concept, link. Similar attitudes prevail in Eastern Europe, where typically 80% think a woman should have the right to decide whether to have an abortion, link. Abortion views in the US have been stable since 2000; as of 2012, 41% of Americans identified themselves as “pro-choice” whilst 50% called themselves “pro-life”, link. In 2020 there was a swing towards “pro-choice” (48%) and away from “pro-life” (46%), [news.gallup.com/ ].
Physical and Mental Risks of Abortion
Physical Problems: It is claimed that abortion does not increase the risk of breast cancer or mental health issues, link. Women who have chosen to have an abortion experience about the same mental and emotional health as women who have not had an abortion and women who carry an unplanned pregnancy to term, link.That said, others claim that abortion gives an elevated risk of medical problems like cervical cancer, endometritis, subsequent ectopic pregnancies, uterus perforation, and premature death from cardiovascular diseases, link. A link between abortion and breast cancer has also been identified in numerous studies, with the risk of breast cancer increasing with multiple abortions, Breast Cancer Prevention Institute (BCPI). See also Breast Cancer Formation due to induced abortion.
Emotional Problems: Despite denials, some claim that abortion does affect people emotionally. Following a review, the Royal College of Psychiatrists (RCOP) now admits that abortion may damage a woman’s mental health:
We agree that there is a high prevalence of mental disorders in the first 3 months after termination as well as in the years that follow … the rates of mental health post abortion are high [Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2008]Studies show a strong correlation between abortion and psychological disorders ranging from depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), panic attacks, bipolar disorder, substance abuse and even suicide. One extensive study concluded that abortions increase the risk of developing mental health problems by 81%, [The British Journal of Psychiatry, Volume 199, Issue 3, September 2011, pp. 180-186]. Induced abortion can also affect a woman spiritually, link.
When does Life Begin?
Before we look at the ethics of abortion, it is important to ask the question: ‘When does life begin?’ Pro-Choice organisations base their view on that of the US Supreme Court, which is that ‘legal personhood begins with birth’. They maintain that conception is not the beginning of a person, that embryos are a cluster of cells with the potential to develop into a human life, and that the fetus is a potential person.
A six-week-old fetus is not a child, a heartbeat doesn’t mean anything … it’s like a parasite, really, when you’re pregnant … Before we’re born, we’re not human
Journalist Hilary Freeman on GB News, September 2021
This Godless comment was made in response to the so-called “Heartbeat Bill” passed into law by the US state of Texas. The Bill protects the unborn child in the womb by making abortion illegal after a preborn child’s heartbeat can be detected (which is usually when a woman is six weeks pregnant).
But what does Medical Science Say?
It is scientifically correct to say that an individual human life begins at conception [Professor Micheline Matthews-Roth, Harvard Medical School] By all the criteria of modern molecular biology, life is present from the moment of conception [Professor Hymie Gordon, Mayo Clinic] After fertilization has taken place a new human being has come into being
Jerome LeJeune, Professor of genetics, University of Descartes, Paris
The conclusion of a United States Senate Judiciary Subcommittee follows this “Pro-Life” view, link:
Physicians, biologists, and other scientists agree that conception marks the beginning of the life of a human being – a being that is alive and is a member of the human species. There is overwhelming agreement on this point in countless medical, biological, and scientific writings
US Senate Bill 158, the “Human Life Bill”, 1981
How does Life End?
This is a delicate subject, but everyone needs to know the painful facts. There is a measurable heart beat 21-24 days after conception, and brain waves can be detected after 6 weeks, link. Just 8 weeks after conception the unborn baby reacts to touch, and at 20 weeks gestation the body’s pain network is established, link.
The neural pathways are present for pain to be experienced quite early by unborn babies [Steven Calvin, M.D., Chair of Program in Human Rights Medicine, University of Minnesota]
An unborn baby at 20 weeks gestation is fully capable of experiencing pain. Without question, [abortion] is a dreadfully painful experience [R. J. White, M.D., PhD., professor of neurosurgery, Case Western University ]
So virtually all abortions terminate a beating heart and brain waves, and usually it is a very painful experience for the unborn child. Graphic images can be seen at CBRUK. Until banned from doing so, a few UK hospitals burned aborted children in waste-to-energy plants to heat hospitals, link!
The Biblical View of the Unborn
The Bible underscores the general scientific view that the womb carries a human being and that conception is the start of a person:
Gen 25:21-22: Two children (Heb: ‘ben’) struggled in Rebekah’s womb. The Hebrew root meaning is two sons i.e. two individuals.
Job 3:3: Job is referred to as a ‘child’ (an individual) at the point of conception.
Job 3:16: Job refers to an infant (Heb: olal) who is still-born. The Hebrew root meaning is a young child, delivered dead. Note the parallel with abortion.
Jer 1:5: God says He knew Jeremiah as a person before he was born, even, it seems, before the point of conception.
Luke 1:41,44: Here we have the reaction of one person to the voice of another: the babe (Gk: ‘brephos’) leaped in Elizabeth’s womb when his mother heard Mary’s voice. The term ‘babe’ is always used to denote an individual person, as for example in Luke 2:12.
Not surprisingly, abortion was condemned in the early church.
What about Ethics?
Having a firm scientific and biblical basis, we are now in a position to consider the ethics/morality of abortion. Ethics comes from the Greek word ‘ethos’, meaning ‘what ought to be’ – the ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ in a particular situation. So we must first ask, ‘where do our ethics come from – is there indeed absolute right and wrong?’ Pro-Choice organisations maintain that it is important to avoid adopting one religious view over another, and so are in the realm of moral relativism with few absolutes. Whether abortion is right or wrong then depends upon an individual’s belief:
Abortion is a moral choice made by a woman based on her moral beliefs and that every woman must be free to choose, link
Where there is moral relativism and little absolute moral belief, the Pro-Choice argument then centre’s upon a woman’s right to control her own body. But suppose there are moral absolutes, absolutes set by God?
Let’s look at the scientific and biblical view of abortion. Rather than talk of embryo and fetus, we should really be talking about a human being – a person from the time of conception. The person in the womb is simply in the early stages of human development, just like a child grows up into an adult. So we are faced with the question:
“When, if ever, is it right to take the life of a human being in the womb?”
Of course, the Bible says “You shall not murder” (Exod 20:13), which draws a line in the sand for many believers. Induced abortion is not an option. But, as discussed, many cultures (including many Christians) accept that abortion may be justified where a mother’s life is in danger (ground F in UK abortion law). There is also the question of fetal abnormality or child handicap; should induced abortion in such cases be legal? This is recognised as ground E in UK law. Having said this, ground E amounts to just 1% of all legal abortions, and ground F is very rarely used, link.
So, rare exceptions aside, and taking the scientific and biblical viewpoint, we should ask:
“Are most induced abortions i.e. over 95% of abortions biblically ethical? Are they morally wrong (sinful) in the sight of the one true God? Is it right to murder a human being simply for ‘social’ reasons, like ‘the pregnancy was unintended’, ‘I don’t wish to be a single parent’, ‘it is unaffordable’ or ‘it is inconvenient’? Is rampant abortion in the UK (about 200,000 abortions each year) one of the reasons why Britain could come under judgement?”
The biblical and moral response must be a resounding ‘no’: apart from rare exceptions, induced abortion is immoral and wrong in the sight of God. In Western countries at least, the State has legalized murder. And an individual contemplating abortion should consider their relationship to God.
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