The Truth About Christianity and Abortion

In 1860 the American Medical Association initiated the biggest change in abortion views ever recorded in history. Castuera says, “Although their motives were heavily tinged with self-interest, the mostly Protestant doctors persuaded a number of states to adopt anti-abortion laws that stayed on the books for a century. With these efforts, the AMA managed to put some of its competitors out of business, restrict the public role of women in bourgeois society, and strengthen the control of conventional male doctors over the field of medicine. In a very real sense, the medical profession transformed abortion from a moral issue into a medical procedure and imposed the authority of physicians over it.” This shift also impacted women’s health in the 19th century as doctors started becoming pressured to not perform abortions or stop pregnancy from occurring, so women found at-home ways to end pregnancy, which often resulted in their deaths.

The next big shift occurred in the 1980’s when political conservatives organized around the topic of abortion and the “moral majority” and Religious Right churches were borne. Since I was not alive in the days before the 80’s conservative revival, I have included in my research many conversations I have had with both conservative and progressive evangelicals, Christians of varying denominations and Catholics. Whatever their position now, all related to me that before the 1980’s, abortion was never a prioritized topic of the church except in minority groups. It was not a measure of one’s Christianity as it seems to have become today, and being called a “Christian Democrat” was not an unusual nor taboo thing. This major shift came about not as a result of a new Christian doctrine or new book added to the Bible (there was no Dead Sea Scroll on abortion found in 1980…), but through political efforts by the GOP and conservative groups. This “political doctrine” became religious and scriptural doctrine for millions, without question.

There is no doubt of the sincerity of many Christians who hold an extreme anti-abortion view. This essay is not making an argument in any way that the topic of abortion is not an important one, or to be taken lightly in any way. However, it is difficult to justify the prioritization of the abortion issue over a host of other issues from a Biblical and historical viewpoint, especially when Biblical passages concerning other social and moral issues are so prominent. There are 3,000 verses in the Bible that are concerned with social justice, taking care of the poor, the stranger, attitudes of kindness and compassion. It is dominant in the Old Testament and the New Testament and there is no ambiguity. So why is it not our dominant concern, as Christians, today?

It simply cannot be argued that abortion did not exist in Biblical times or during the time of Augustine and every other century until the 19th – the only thing that did begin to change was a liberation for women due to progress and a change in cultural and social values in the late 1800’s, and a political tool with increased use of propaganda tools that took over thousands of churches in the 1980’s. I believe the evidence suggests that political forces and resistance to change, the increasingly strong suffrage movement and later women’s rights movements, that are truly behind the shift in views on abortion and women’s health, and the topic has become an intersection for conservative politicians to reach voters.

As I stated earlier, late-term abortion has always been unacceptable in the Church and I agree there must be moderation and laws in place to respect and protect the life of the unborn in late stages of pregnancy. Most, except maybe some on the very far left, believe that once a child is able to live on its own outside the womb, abortion should be out of the question with the exception of cases of the viability of the fetus and health of the mother. Furthermore, only 1.3% of abortions are “late term” (after 21 weeks), and these are almost always the result of a danger to the mother’s life or incurable illness within the child. It is a heart-breaking decision for parents and one that has had to be made for hundreds of years, amidst great devastation.

Let me make it clear, I am not advocating for “abortion with no restrictions” or telling anyone reading this how to believe or feel on the topic. I am simply bringing the truth of scripture and history to light. The church has moved to the extreme Right on this issue, to the point that someone like myself, a Christian Democrat who holds a moderate view on abortion, is portrayed as a far left radical and in fact an accessory to murder! And consider this…my views as a progressive are in fact to the Right of the Bible and the founders of our faith. The majority of Americans do not fit into either a “pro-life” or “pro-choice” box, but believe in a moderate view that protects both women’s rights and the unborn, and this is where I sit. The major point here is: if more Christians would only start prioritizing the things Jesus told us to, our focus would look drastically different than it does now as a Body.

If abortion continues to be the number one priority for so many Christians at the expense of the issues the Bible does instruct on, are those who make it their only priority not giving the issue an almost idolatrous seat? I’m not saying abortion cannot be an important issue to a Christian, but there is no scriptural or historical backing for it to be the number one issue, at the expense of the “least of these” who are suffering now. There are over 3,000 scriptures directly pertaining to helping the poor, showing love, character, giving, social justice, and asking the governing authorities to show justice and fairness. The Christian church in America cannot continue to prioritize one issue that is not directly addressed in the history of Christian teachings and in scripture, yet make secondary or of non-importance the social justice topics addressed in the entire Word, from Genesis to Revelation.

There is no “pro-life” label in the Bible, but there is one instance in which Jesus did label believers. It is in Matthew 25, in a parable called the Sheep and the Goats, in which he labels those who did or did not help the sick, the poor, care about those in prison and care for the stranger (he does not specify that they be “documented”). He made clear His priorities, and I urge you, fellow believers, to get about His business and not be used by politicians who have succeeded for decades, until now, to attempt to mold our Christian culture into a voting machine by pushing your buttons. They are using the unborn and even the tragic circumstances surrounding abortion to do it, and that is the real disgrace. Will you be a sheep or a goat?