Is the Bible Silent on Abortion? Does This Even Matter?

Does the Bible support abortion? For some Christians, this may seem like an obvious “no” (and I would agree). But an increasing number of self-professing Christians say otherwise. For instance, Progressive Christian and Texas State Representative James Talarico recently said on a podcast that “Jesus never talks about abortion” and that “The Bible is silent on abortion.”

However, this is the same person who appeared in front of millions on the Joe Rogan Show and argued that the Bible supports abortion (and even instructs how to do one) by raising various passages (erroneously, I should add). While we will show the flaws in his interpretations of those passages in subsequent articles, for now, we will focus on the issue of the Bible supposedly being silent on the issue of abortion and if that even matters.

Silence Equals Permission

Some, such as those at the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice and Planned Parenthood Federation of America, argue that since the word “abortion” is not explicitly mentioned in Scripture, the silence of the topic warrants approval of the practice today for Christians. For instance, Ray Bowen Ward, professor emeritus of comparative religion at the University of Ohio, said, “One thing the Bible does not say is ‘Thou shalt not abort.’”^[1] Moreover, Reverend Mark Bigelow, a member of Planned Parenthood’s Clergy Advisory Board, said,

Even as I minister, I am careful what I presume Jesus would do if he were alive today, but one thing I know from the Bible is that Jesus was not against women having a choice in continuing a pregnancy. He never said a word about abortion (nor did anyone else in the Bible), even though abortion was available and in use in his time.[2]

It is true that the word “abortion” does not appear anywhere in Scripture. However, does silence equal permission? Certainly not. As will be seen in a subsequent article, the Bible explicitly teaches that all human beings are made in the image of God, including the unborn. While the Bible does not explicitly say the unborn are image bearers, the Bible also does not explicitly say that African Americans, Asians, or Hispanics are made in His image either.

Surely, however, it would be absurd to conclude otherwise from the universal notion of being made in the image of God. If one is a human being (which the unborn are, click HERE for the article making the case for this), then one is made in the image of God. The Bible also does not explicitly condemn racism against African Americans, killing abortion physicians for fun, or stoning homosexuals, yet these are all acts few would argue are acceptable despite not being explicitly condemned in Scripture.

Moreover, the utilization of silence in the Bible as approval for immoral practices is not new. This was precisely what was done in an attempt to dehumanize African Americans in the nineteenth century, asserting that they were not valuable human beings with souls because the Bible did not explicitly say so.^[3] Sure, the Bible does not address particular races as being made in the image of God. However, Scripture does teach that human beings in general have intrinsic value because they bear the image of the Creator and were made to be in relationship with Him (Gen. 1:26; Gal. 3:28; Col. 3:10-11; James 3:9).

Therefore, if African Americans are human beings (which they undoubtedly are), then they too are made in the image of God, and the same goes for the unborn human beings in the womb. This does not have to be explicitly mentioned but can be inferred from what Scripture does say. The same is true of abortion being immoral. Based on what Scripture does say about the value of the unborn (they are human beings made in the image of God), abortion is immoral.

The Old Testament

The question remains, however, why is the Bible silent on the issue of abortion? Looking first at the Old Testament, abortion was not explicitly condemned because, in the context of ancient Judaism, it would not have even been considered something one ought to do.

First, the Bible teaches that humans are intrinsically valuable because they bear the image of the Creator (Gen 1:26; 9:6; Exodus 23:7). Also, among the six things specified that God hates, one of them includes “hands that shed innocent blood” and elsewhere, God forbid the murder of innocent human beings (Prov. 6:17b; Exodus 20:13). Given that abortion is the intentionally act of killing an innocent human being (i.e., murder) and the Bible explicitly condemns murder as shown above, then one can rightly make the argument that the Bible does not mention abortion, that it is immoral.

Nevertheless, in Genesis 9:5-6, the Imago Dei (the doctrine that human beings are made in the image of God) is explicitly mentioned as the grounds for which shedding innocent blood is prohibited. As David Closson said,

The Noahic covenant’s prohibition of murder demonstrates a high regard for human life. Following the flood, God said, ‘From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man. Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image’ (Genesis 9:5-6 ESV). Notably, the prohibition against shedding blood is grounded in the Imago Dei.[4]

Second, children were seen as gifts from the Lord and the highest blessing (Gen. 17:6; 33:5; Psalm 113:9; 127:3-5). To turn around and intentionally kill that blessing would be not only immoral to the child, but a slap in the face to the one who gave that blessing, namely, God. Third, it was considered a grave curse to be sterile or barren, bringing about great shame and sorrow (1 Sam. 1:6; Gen. 20:17-18; 30:1; 22-23). Therefore, as Germain Grisez said of the Old Testament view of abortion, “among a Hebrew people who saw children as a gift and barrenness as a curse, it was virtually unthinkable that any woman from that culture would desire an abortion.”^[5]

Some respond by saying the authors of the Bible would commonly condemn the sins of other nations, so why not abortion? Since evidence exists that abortions took place in neighboring nations to Israel, the authors should have condemned it if it were immoral. However, this is a fatal mistake. For the sins condemned in Scripture do not just make up the entirety of the immoral practices of other nations, but those that were persuasive among God’s people, such as idolatry (Psalm 106:35; Jer. 1:16; 2:23; Ezek. 6:1-10). Since abortion, though regularly practiced by pagans (as child sacrifice, by the way), was not something the Israelites even considered, there was no reason to explicitly condemn it.

The New Testament

What about the New Testament? Similar to the ancient Israelites, early Jewish Christians of biblical times would not have even considered abortion, and in fact, would have been firmly opposed to it. Michael Gorman has presented historical evidence of the pro-life stance of first-century Jews:

(1) The Sentences of Pseudo-Phocylides (50 BC-50 AD): “A woman should not destroy the unborn babe in her belly, nor after its birth throw it before the dogs and vultures.”

(2) The Sibylline Oracles: Among the wicked are those who “produce abortions and unlawfully cast their offspring away. Also condemned are sorcerers who dispense abortifacients.”

(3) First Enoch (first or second century BC): It was an evil angel who taught humans how to “smash the embryo in the womb.”

(4) Josephus (first-century Jewish historian): “The law orders all the offspring be brought, and forbids women either to cause abortion or to make away           with the fetus.” A woman who did so was considered to have committed infanticide because she destroyed a “soul,” hence diminishing the race.^[6]

Even on the evidence from Josephus alone, it is evident that first-century Jews and early Christians did not consider abortion to be moral in any sense. Nonetheless, it is important to note that much of the theology of the New Testament is written to address specific issues within particular churches (as in Paul's letters). If the churches were not considering abortion, Paul had no reason to condemn them for such an action.

Thus, it is mistaken to assume that the lack of explicitly mentioning the practice of abortion by using that specific word means approval. This is especially true considering what the rest of Scripture says about the continuity of personhood through all stages of life and the condemnation of killing innocent human beings made in the image of God, which will be presented in subsequent articles.

This article was taken from my upcoming book Sacred or Secular: The Pro-Life Case for Grounding Human Value in the Imago Dei. While an official release date has not yet been announced, you can join the wait list for the book by emailing us at info@truthfulhope.com.

Footnotes

[1] Ray Bowen Ward, “Is the Fetus a Person?” Mission Journal (1986), 6.

[2] Mark Bigelow, letter to Bill O’Reilly of Fox News, November 22, 2002, cited in Klusendorf, The Case for Life, 193.

[3] Josiah Priest, Bible Defense of Slavery: Origin, Fortunes and History of the Negro Race, 5^th ed. (Glasgow, KY: W.S. Brown, 1852), 33.

[4] David Closson, Life After Roe: Equipping Christians in the Fight for Life Today (Brentwood, TN: B&H Academic, 2025), 36.

[5] Germain Grisez, Abortion: The Myths, The Realities, and the Arguments (New York: Corpus Books, 1970), 123-27.

[6] Michael Gorman, “Why Is The New Testament Silent about Abortion?,” Christianity Today, January 11, 1993 cited from Klusendorf, The Case for Life, 197-98.