To begin with, abortion and Christianity have a convoluted and lengthy history. On top of that, a number of biblical passages are often cited by Christians on either side of the abortion question. However, as a Christian individual, I strongly believe that abortion is against my personal values or misaligned with my beliefs, which is why I may decide against it. To make matters worse, I believe that all lives should be saved and not rely on an active medical procedure intended to end a life. As an example, in Exodus 21:22-25, “When men have a fight and hurt a pregnant woman, so that she suffers a miscarriage, but no further injury, the guilty one shall be fined as much as the woman’s husband demands of him, and he shall pay in the presence of the judges. But if injury ensues, you shall give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, burn for burn, wound for wound, stripe for stripe”. As a Christian individual, this verse continues to portray causing a miscarriage as wicked. On the other hand, from the perspective of allowing abortion, Christians who support legalizing abortion point to this verse as evidence that, in cases where a woman miscarries due to an injury sustained in a fight, the punishment meted out must be commensurate with the harm inflicted, with the death penalty being an option if the woman survives. Another example is in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born, I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you”. This passage implies that life begins before birth, meaning that abortion is the taking of a person’s life. On the other hand, from the perspective of allowing abortion, pro-abortion Christians have countered that this verse only applies to Jeremiah and explain his special status by claiming that God had plans for him even before he was born. This sentence, according to them, is “a reference to a special plan for one man rather than a general approach to biology and reproduction”. Therefore, in my view, abortion is not health care because one would be taking away something that is not theirs to begin with. Most importantly, I believe that a number of religions forbid taking life because they claim that only God has the power to grant or take life such as Christianity. Our benevolent heavenly father, God, wants us to experience joy and happiness. He made a plan for us to develop, rely on faith, and eventually return to live with Him. His plan answers important questions, such as “Where did I come from?” and provides our life on Earth with purpose and significance. Each life is truly a gift from God, and I believe that we can honor His gift by cherishing our own lives as well as respecting and valuing the lives of others. We are precious in His sight, and by trusting Him and being diligent in our choices, we can share light and truth with the world around us. For these reasons, the taking of human life is always wrong.
