Does Human Life Begin At First Breath?

The historian Josephus (2013, Against Apion, 2.25) called abortion murder. The Talmud (n.d., Sanhedrin, 57b) includes the fetus in the Noahide covenant prohibiting shedding of blood, lest the culprit’s blood be shed (See Philo (1935, Special Laws, 3.117–118; 1941, Hypothetica, 7.7); Pseudo-Phocylides (1978, lines 149–150,184–186); Sibylline Oracles (1899, 2.281–282); 1 Enoch (1995,69.12,99.5); cf. Tacitus (1925, Histories, 5.5).

The Bible is clear about the value of life in the womb throughout ancient Judaism and the entirety of church history. It unanimously affirms the dignity of the unborn, which is not considered an entity, parasite, unformed substance, or incomplete/subhuman life.

What they do show is that the death of children (born or unborn, adult or infant) for the sins of parents was a familiar phenomenon to ancient Israel and did not necessarily imply a lower moral status (and certainly did not imply the general permissibility of killing them). Hence, there is no sense support for a lower moral status of fetuses or the practice of abortion, even if it refers to miscarriage.

The Bible also prohibits abortifacients, which are drugs that end pregnancy (i.e., the morning-after pill) by using words from the same group as “sorcery” (Gk: ‘pharmakeia’ = use of medicines, drugs, or spells used in the practice of magical arts) (Galatians 5:20; Revelation 9:21; 18:23; 21:8; 22:15).

None of the passages considered can plausibly be used as a basis for attributing lesser worth to unborn human beings. In fact, one of them supports the pro-life view, and another (Genesis 2:7) points to a similar passage in the Bible describing God’s breath reaching unborn life (Ecclesiastes 11:5).

The Sixth Commandment

"You shall not murder" (Exodus 20:13 ESV)

This commandment forbids the murder of human beings because they are created in the image of God, and it is His glorious gift. Murder is specifically premeditated killing. This command does not prohibit war or capital punishment. The Bible says a person "shall not murder." It does not say, 'you shall not kill.'

A mother's womb is the most dangerous place for a human being in America. One out of every five women will intentionally end a pregnancy by having an abortion. Over 700,000 people die from cancer every year in the United States of America. However, over 900,000 people die each year from abortion, making it the number one cause of death.

"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." (Exodus 21:22-25 ESV)

The Hebrew word for "come out" is 'yeled' which refers to a child being born and not as a product of conception or that it is less valuable than the life of an adult. The same Hebrew word is used in other contexts to designate a child already born.