Is the Bible Pro-Abortion?

Is there a passage in the Old Testament where God commands the Israelites to perform an abortion? Jimmy Akin explains the historical context of this passage and why it doesn't say what some pro-choice advocates think it says.

Jimmy Akin is an internationally known author and speaker. As the senior apologist at Catholic Answers, he has more than twenty-five years of experience defending and explaining the Faith.

Jimmy is a convert to the Faith and has an extensive background in the Bible, theology, the Church Fathers, philosophy, canon law, and liturgy.

[jlambert]

“The mistakes” it’s amazing how Christian hate when the book is used against them, in the exact same way they use it against others. Imagine believing in a book that constantly has to be explained because it’s that vague.

[adastra]

Great channel. Hello from what used to be Catholic Ireland.
We catholics need all the armour we can get.

[Super-chad]

I *really, really, really* like this one.... It's properly examined and explained. This guy sounds like a biblical lawyer or something like that

[DanielJohn]

It looks like Jimmy picked up on a key word in verse 28 of Numbers chapter 5. If she was innocent, she would be able to *_CONCEIVE_* children (not "bear" children as some translations erroneously say). The implication then is that the guilty wife would not even conceive a child.

[chiefable]

So where in the Bible does it say anything anti abortion

[christina]

So the magic dust water shouldn’t be believed to be an abortifacient but can be believed to be able to make only and adulterous woman infertile…because that’s a more believable effect of dust water 🧐

[hstarcz]

This passage has troubled me for many years. Thank you so much for providing this helpful explanation!

[renjithjoseph]

1. If you want to argue using the Bible, you have to read the Bible how it's meant to be read i.e. in the light of Church understanding.
2. Read Numbers 5 in light of the story of the woman caught in adultery. Jesus puts himself in place of priest and God!

[brandond]

The mental gymnastics in this video are Olympic grade

[carlzeiler]

My voodoo witch doctor has a similar test, I'll just stick with that

[dmd]

It's really disheartening that any christian would support abortion. We can support women without abortion. Heartbreaking.

[williamk]

No the Bible is not pro-abortion but it is definitely PRO-CHOICE: giving the sinners the free will to CHOOSE God or CHOOSE evil.

[catherineholmes]

Thank you for clarification.

Seems like the dispute was a Protestant view how they take a verse out of content to suit their need without taking into account the verses before and after and the entire meaning.

Babies were killed in the bible, however they were ordered because of evil to keep their power.

Jesus is Lord🙏🏻🕊🕯

[voterthatreads]

Why couldn't God overcome the hard hearts of his early followers if he could cause or stop the effects of the prescribed drink? Why did he have to meet them where they were on some issues and not others? How does this affect the man with whom a woman committed adultery? Does he face any tests? How do this topic and explanation relate to Deuteronomy 28:18, 53, Isaiah 13:18, and Matthew 24:19?

[shibasalute]

What if she was barren to begin with, how will the water, ink and holy dust test prove anything? 🤔

[Thomas-dwnb]

Another point of interest is that I don't see anything in the passage in Numbers that says the ritual should be done if the woman is found pregnant. It simply says that the ritual should be done if the husband suspects her of, or she is being accused of, adultery.

[philliprobinson]

Hi. Sorry Jimmy, I fail to see the relevance of this video. There's a very limited selection of relevant Bible quotations used in this video. I suggest four others have much more relevance.

1/ (Ecc 3:3) "A time to kill, a time to heal--" This suggests that mercy killing was acceptable in some situations, such as military casualties who had no hope of recovering from their injuries.

2/ "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out cast it away" (Matt 18:9). In this verse Jesus tells believers they can do as they wish with their own body.

Life ends when the heart stops beating, so I'd suggest life starts when the heart starts beating. That's about six weeks into pregnancy, before which it belongs to the owner as a collection of cells that can be discarded, just like "the eye" that Jesus assures us can be "cast away" if it offends us.

3/ "There are some who are born eunuchs, are made eunuchs by men, and some who choose to become eunuchs for the kingdom of God's sake" (Matt 19:12). Eunuchs were castrated as children to become docile slaves without family loyalties. They were trusted to control harems of women. Clearly Jesus accepted the mutilation of the organs of generation for the sake of slavery, so it's hard to see him getting upset about early abortions. What is a castration if it isn't also a complete abortion of the castratee's genetic future? Let's use a single standard, not a double standard.

4/ According to Scripture life begins when the first breath is taken (Gen 2:7). This clearly points out that "God breathed into man's nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul". (The words "pneuma", "breath", and "spirit" all mean the same thing.) Using this scripture to allow abortions up to 9 months would clearly be a very poor decision, but one literally based on the Bible nonetheless. I suggest Christians read ALL their Bible (2Tim 3:16) to get an overall perspective, and not just cherry pick it to get specific but unbalanced advice. The Bible writers thought LIFE was in the breath and in the blood, but they knew nothing about the circulation of the blood, discovered by William Harvey about 1630.

I'm not a Christian, I'm a scientific Theist, but I'd suggest my "heartbeat" definition of "when life begins" is the best practical compromise. It protects unborn infants as far as possible without taking away a woman's right to do as she wishes with her own body during the first six weeks when it is her body alone. All the best, Cheers, P.R.

[jimbojackson]

God has the authority to play God (Kill anyone he wishes. He created us after all.) _We_ don't.

[jamesstetson]

Wait, so the ink and dust is so potent that it can cause the woman to be infertel, but if she is pregnant the ink and dust will have no effect on the baby? Come on man

[cyrusmallison]

Back than women would drink blacksmith water to terminate a pregnancy (it's nothing new). Than again this chapter does not say she's pregnant.