Abortion And Church History

According to the Epistle of Barnabas 19:5, "You shall love your neighbor more than your own life. You shall not slay a child by abortion. You shall not kill that which has already been generated." In Paedogus 2:10.96.1, Clement of Alexandria said "those who use abortifacient medicines to hide their fornication cause not only the outright murder of the fetus, but of the whole human race as well." According to "A Plea for the Christians, 35.6" Athenagoras argued, "What reason would we have to commit murder when we say that women who induce abortions are murderers, and will have to give account of it to God? … The fetus in the womb is a living being and therefore the object of God's care." In Apology, 9.4 Tertullian said, "It does not matter whether you take away a life that is born, or destroy one that is coming to the birth. In both instances, destruction is murder."

Personhood Is Taught In The Bible

Personhood was endowed by God at the moment of creation. The Bible teaches that men and women are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). David says in Psalm 51:5 that he was a sinner from the time is mother conceived him. In Psalm 139:16 we learn that God knitted David in his mother's womb. Job 10:8-12 described the way God created him before he was born in detail. In Isaiah 44:2, God says He formed Isaiah "in the womb." In Jeremiah 1:5, God tells Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you". Dr. Luke says John the Baptist was ending his second trimester in Elisabeth's womb when he leaped for joy at Mary's greeting (Luke 1:41,44). Even the angel Gabriel told Mary that she would be "with child and give birth to a son" (Luke 1:31).

Christ Himself Loves The Child In The Womb

"My children, I am suffering birth pains for you again until Christ is formed in you." — Galatians 4:19 (GodsWord)

Every child in the womb … 

» Has been created by God (Genesis 1:27 - NLT)
» Has a life plan laid out by God (Jeremiah 29:11 - NIV)
» Has a Saviour who died for their sins (1st Corinthians 15:3 - KJV)

Christ Himself loves the child in the womb and proved it by becoming like him by spending nine (9) months in Mary's womb clearly showing how precious He considers the child in the womb to be. The word "Christian" means "Christ-like" so the true meaning of being "Christian" is living and acting like Christ. The Apostle Paul expressed deep sorrow and great pain for some Christians in Galatia because Christ was not yet formed in them (Galatians 4:19).

Perhaps Galatians 4:19 explains how the founders of the "Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice (RCRC)," (i.e., Clergy and Lay Leaders from mainstream denominations) provided women with referrals to abortion services before the Supreme Court legalized abortion in Roe v. Wade in 1973. Hmmm … I wonder if Galatians 4:19 could also explain how 73% of the women who obtain an abortion claim a religious affiliation.

Brothers, we really need to talk.