Document Written by Paul Swonger
Introduction
James 1:5 "But if any of you want wisdom, let him ask of God who giveth to all men abundantly and upbraideth not. And it shall be given him."
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As with all things, human opinion on the subject of abortion must come into conformity with
the mind of God, the author of all life. For this, I will examine His
Word, and the teachings of His Church. This document will clearly
demonstrate that those hailing under the banner of Christianity
(Catholic or otherwise) simply cannot support abortion under any
circumstance. Sacred Scripture and the teaching of the Catholic Church
attempts to rightly form our conscience on the issue. |
Scriptural Considerations
The following is a compilation of verses of Sacred Scripture dealing with issues relating directly to the practice of abortion. God is the author of all life, and we are made in His image (Genesis 1:26-27. 9:6). Thus, abortion is an attempt by mankind to overstep his limits of authority. God has an active role in our creation, beginning with our formation in the womb (Psalms 139:13-16).
God is the author of all life. We are made in His image.
Genesis 1:26 And he said: Let us
make man to our image and likeness: and let him have dominion over the
fishes of the sea, and the fowls of the air, and the beasts, and the
whole earth, and every creeping creature that moveth upon the earth.
Genesis 1:27 And God created man to his own image: to the image of God he created him: male and female he created them.
Genesis 9:6 Whosoever shall shed man's blood, his blood shall be shed: for man was made to the image of God.
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The book of Genesis clearly states that mankind is made in the image of
God, further it states the punishment for bloodshed is the same. Though
Christianity puts further context on this via the New Covenant of
Christ, death of the soul still results from mortal sin, which murder
most certainly is. |
Psalms 139:13-16 For thou hast
possessed my reins: thou hast protected me from my mother's womb. (14)
I will praise thee, for thou art fearfully magnified: wonderful are thy
works, and my soul knoweth right well. (15) My bone is not hidden
from thee, which thou hast made in secret: and my substance in the lower
parts of the earth. (16) Thy eyes did see my imperfect being, and in
thy book all shall be written: days shall be formed, and no one in them.
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God tells us in His Word that He has an active role in our creation,
beginning with our formation in the womb. There are no exceptions
offered. Though the circumstances of conception in the minds of mankind
are not always what we might consider favorable, the life in the womb
has become so by God's will, even if the other circumstances surrounding
the pregnancy may seem unfavorable, or even horrific, such as in
instances of rape. |
Isaiah 44:2 Thus saith the Lord
that made and formed thee, thy helper from the womb: Fear not, O my
servant Jacob, and thou most righteous whom I have chosen.
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Regardless of pain, uncertainty, preparedness, preference, circumstance
or any other human factors, again Sacred Scripture tells us that it is
God who forms us in the womb. What right then has man to undo what God
has done, especially given His commandment against murder. |
Isaiah 49:1 Give ear, ye
islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from
the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name.
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From the womb were are named by God. From the womb we are all His children. There are no exceptions. |
God recognizes the unborn as a human person.
Exodus 21:22-25 If men quarrel, and one strike a woman with child and she miscarry indeed, but live herself: he shall be answerable for so much damage as the woman's husband shall require, and as arbiters shall award. (23) But if her death ensue thereupon, he shall render life for life, (24) Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, (25) Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.
The killing of the unborn is murder, thus a crime punishable by death according to Sacred Scripture, which is the Word of God.
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Psalms 51:5 (51:7) For behold I was conceived in iniquities; and in sins did my mother conceive me.
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This Psalm appearing previous to the aforementioned verses, indicate
that God is active in our role even if our conception is in Sin. This
includes by rape, incest, adultery, unwed intercourse etc,and even if
the circumstances are ideal, we are all conceived in sin because of Adam
and Original Sin. Mankind has a fallen nature. None of us escape that
in conception, regardless of the worldly circumstances. |
Jeremiah 1:4 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
Jeremiah 1:5
Before I formed thee in the bowels of thy mother, I knew thee: and
before thou camest forth out of the womb, I sanctified thee, and made
thee a prophet unto the nations.
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God tells us that before we are even conceived or born, He knows us. That is because we are His creation. |
Luke 1:15 For he shall be great before the Lord and shall drink no wine nor strong drink: and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.
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Archangel Gabriel says that John the Baptist will be filled with the
Holy Spirit even in his mother's womb. |
Luke 1:41 And it came to pass that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the
infant leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost.
The original Greek word here translated in the Douay Rheims Bible as
"infant", and in the King James Bible as "babe", is βρέφος. Below is a
Strong's dictionary entry on the word. Note that word is the same for an
unborn or born child. If it's not a baby, you're not pregnant.
G1025
βρέφος
brephos
bref'-os
Of uncertain affinity; an infant (properly unborn) literally or figuratively: - babe, (young) child, infant. |
God instructs us to protect the vulnerable
Psalms 82:3 Judge for the needy and fatherless: do justice to the humble and the poor.
Psalms 82:4 Rescue the poor; and deliver the needy out of the hand of the sinner.
Here the Psalmist exhorts us to protect the needy and the vulnerable.
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Proverbs 24:11 Deliver them that are led to death: and those that are drawn to death, forbear not to deliver.
Proverbs 24:12 If thou say: I have not strength enough: he that seeth into the heart, he understandeth, and nothing deceiveth the keeper of thy soul, and he shall render to a man according to his works.
God's Word is clear, we are to rescue the innocent that would
otherwise be put to death; we are not to deliver them to death's
clutches. Our actions in this matter will be repaid accordingly.
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The Catechism of the Catholic Church
In addition the the Sacred Scriptures, guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church offers her interpretation on the matter.
Abortion
2270 Human
life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of
conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must
be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the
inviolable right of every innocent being to life.72
- Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.73
My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.74
2271 Since the first century the Church has
affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has
not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say,
abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the
moral law:
- You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.75
God,
the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of
safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of
themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment
of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.76
2272
Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The
Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime
against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs
excommunication latae sententiae,"77 "by the very commission of the offense,"78 and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.79
The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy.
Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the
irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to
the parents and the whole of society.
2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:
"The inalienable rights of the person must be
recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority.
These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents;
nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they
belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the
creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such
fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's
right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception
until death."80
"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the
protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is
denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not
place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in
particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based
on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and
protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of
conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every
deliberate violation of the child's rights."81
2274 Since it must be treated from conception
as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for,
and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.
Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it
respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is
directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual. . . .
It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the
thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a
diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence."82
2275 "One must hold as
licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life
and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks
for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its
condition of health, or its individual survival."83
"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material."84
"Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are
not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected
according to sex or other predetermined qualities. Such manipulations
are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his
integrity and identity"85 which are unique and unrepeatable.
Citations
72 Cf. CDF, Donum vitae I,1.
73 Jer 1:5; cf. Job 10:8-12; Ps 22:10-11.
74 Ps 139:15.
75 Didache 2,2:SCh 248,148; cf. Ep. Barnabae 19,5:PG 2 777; Ad Diognetum 5,6:PG 2,1173; Tertullian, Apol. 9:PL 1,319-320.
76 GS 51 § 3.
77 CIC, can. 1398.
78 CIC, can. 1314.
79 Cf. CIC, cann. 1323-1324.
80 CDF, Donum vitae III.
81 CDF, Donum vitae III.
82 CDF, Donum vitae I,2.
83 CDF, Donum vitae I,3.
84 CDF, Donum vitae I,5.
85 CDF, Donum vitae I,6.
Qualifications Regarding Action
I find it important to note here that in no way are any of the verses or citations on this page to be used as a justification for the faithful to act outside of the law. To that effect God has revealed the following truth;
Romans 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. (2) Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.
It is our responsibility to spread God's truth via the means he has laid out for us, central to that is the offering of prayer (1 Timothy 2:1-2) and teaching of His Word (Matthew 16:16-20). We are called to lead by example (1 Corinthians 11:1), and so it is my hope that this document will inspire those who read it to act charitably (1 Timothy 6:17-18) and in line with His will (1 Peter 1:13-16).
Questions about punishment
Question: "What should the punishment for abortion be?"
Answer: Pro-Abortion activists have made efforts to poison the well in regards to the discussion of the legality of abortion. They often prey on those of incompletely formed conscience to do so. So
what is the appropriate punishment? Given the aforementioned qualifications regarding action, there are two aspects to appropriately addressing this question, a moral aspect, and a legal aspect. These two may or may not intersect at different levels, depending on the location (and it's laws) and ultimate circumstances.
The moral law always calls abortion by name; murder. On a theological level, and on a moral level, the moral abjuration known as abortion, requires justice for murder. As stated above, and in entering into the second aspect, if morally appropriate justice is not legal, one must abide by the law. If moral justice be legal, then it shall be handed down as such. No other attitude seems appropriate in my opinion, though as always, I subject my judgment to that of the Church.
