Abortion is the deliberate termination of the foetus in the mother's womb. There is abortus provotacus (deliberate miscarriage, including on medical grounds, abortus medicinalis), there is miscarriage (unintentional, excluding abortion). Although the Bible does not use the term abortion or miscarriage, the Church from the first centuries to modern times has generally disapproved of miscarriage, except for medical reasons (threatening the life of the mother), and the act is seen as murder. Biblical reasons for opposing the act include: life and death are God's right and sovereignty, and human life already begins at conception and conception. The biblical ethic of love also opposes abortion as an act of violence, even a capital crime, because it attacks human beings as the image of God (Gen 1:26-27).

Church fathers since the first century (among others, the author of the Didache and the Epistle of Barnabas, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Ambrose, Chrisostomus, Hieronymus, and Augustine) were unanimous in their condemnation of foeticide and abortion. Their views were further embraced by later churches, leading to much discussion and debate in modern times.

There are many arguments from the legal, political, and other fields to justify abortion. But for the church and Christianity in general, abortion is a moral and spiritual issue. Thus the basis for opposition to abortion is an understanding of spiritual warfare (cf. Eph 6:11-18), not mere social activism. (JSA)

Excerpted from:

Church Dictionary and Christian Theology, Editor: Jan. S. Aritonang and Antonius Eddy Kristiyanto. BPK Gunung Mulia