A Love for Life

by Dennis Di Mauro

The abortion debate is often dominated by hot tempers, bumper-sticker slogans, and false information; and in the midst of this are arguments that the Church has been—and is—prolife, pro-choice, or ambivalent. It really isn't a question: from the beginning until now, Christians have sought to protect the unborn. Dennis Di Mauro is the author of A Love for Life: Christianity's Consistent Protection of the Unborn (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2008), and he did us the favor of summarizing a chapter or two of this excellent resource. .–Ed.

Of all the moral issues debated over the past forty years, none has been as hotly contended as the abortion question. While society in general has been split on the subject, most Christians have been taught that abortion is sinful and that it violates the sanctity of human life. But it is also true that the word abortion is never mentioned in the Bible, and this fact has led some Christians to conclude that abortion is biblically permissible, since it is not specifically forbidden in Scripture. This poses a dilemma for Christian pro-lifers: how can we arrive at a biblically-based doctrine that demonstrates that abortion is unethical?

Christian doctrine on the morality of abortion was to a large degree inherited from our Israelite ancestors. Any discussion of Israelite views on abortion often begins with a review of Exodus 21:22–25. This passage provided direction on how to punish a man who had, in the course of a fight with another man, accidentally injured a woman and caused her to have a miscarriage.

Much has been made of this passage in the abortion debate, because it is arguably the only verse in the Old Testament that deals with the punishment given to a person who kills an unborn child. The passage required the violator to pay a fine to the woman’s husband in reparation for the unborn child’s death. This verse is telling because it considers even an accidental abortion as a punishable violation of the law. One might speculate that an intentional abortion would have been considered an even more egregious crime.

Some scholars have held that the prohibition of abortion in the Bible may have been unneeded since it was already included in Scripture’s numerous prohibitions on pharmakeia, usually translated as “sorcery” or “witchcraft.” Senior Circuit Judge John T. Noonan, editor of The Morality of Abortion: Legal and Historical Perspectives, translates this word as the “manufacture of medicines” and explains that some of the socalled medicines that sorcerers created in biblical times were abortive draughts.

In those days, many women bought these poisonous drinks from sorcerers in an attempt to induce miscarriages. Alvin Schmidt, a former professor of sociology at Illinois College and writer of the 2001 book, Under the Influence: How Christianity Transformed Civilization, holds similar views on the term pharmakeia. He believes that it is best translated as the “the making and administering of potions,” and he also asserts that other first and second-century documents support the theory that the word was used to describe abortifacients (a drug used to cause an abortion) as well as other types of potions. So it seems a compelling argument that a biblical prohibition of magic arts included a prohibition of abortion as well. Michael Gorman, in his book Abortion and the Early Church, further verifies this theory by explaining that one of the sorcerer’s responsibilities was the manufacture of abortifacients.

Besides the references to pharmakeia, numerous Bible verses also convey an unmistakable pro-life message even without using the term abortion. In Psalm 139, David praises God’s handiwork in forming him, which demonstrates His love for unborn children. He writes,“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.” In a similar way, Job describes how God lovingly formed him in his mother’s womb in chapter 10: “Your hands shaped me and made me...Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese, clothe me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bone and sinews?”

The references to the sanctity of human life in the womb are not limited to the Old Testament. In Luke 1:42–44, Mary’s cousin Elizabeth exclaims, “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.” Interestingly, this verse actually has a double pro-life message since John the Baptist (the unborn child in Elizabeth’s womb) leaps for joy at being in the presence of his Lord Jesus—another unborn child! This verse’s pro-life message is truly hard to miss.

Don’t let the fact that the word abortion is not found in the Bible prevent you from making a strong biblical witness for the sanctity of human life. God’s love for the unborn is clearly shown throughout Scripture!

Dennis Di Mauro is president of Northern VA Lutherans for Life, a doctoral student in Church History, and lives in Herndon, Virginia. He can be reached via e-mail at dennisdimauro@yahoo.com

Mary’s Visit to Elizabeth by Rembrandt van Rijn.1640. Detroit, The Detroit Institute of Art.

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