Christian Teachings Against Abortion
Scriptual Passages Dealing with the Uborn Person
Genesis 25:21 And Isaac entreated the LORD on behalf of his wife because she was barren; and the LORD was entreated by him, and Rebekah his wife became pregnant. 25:22 But the children pushed roughly inside her, and she said, "If it is like this, why am I here?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. 25:23 And the LORD said to her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from within you; and one people will be stronger than the other people, and the older will serve the younger." 25:24 And when her days were fulfilled that she should give birth, there were twins in her womb.
Exodus 21 22 "Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process, they hurt a pregnant woman so her child is born prematurely. If no further harm results, then the man responsible must pay damages in the amount the woman's husband demands and the judges approve. 23 But if any harm results, then the offender must be punished according to the injury. If the result is death, the offender must be executed23:7 Never put an innocent or honest person to death. I will not allow anyone guilty of this to go free.
Deuteronomy Choose life, then, that you and yourdescendants may live 30:19 It is I who bring both death and life. 32:39
Judges 13:5 As for the son you will conceive and bear, no razor shall touch his head, for this boy is to be consecrated to God from the womb.
(From The Gospel of Life CHAPTER II - I CAME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE)
Job, from the depth of his pain, stops to contemplate the work of God who miraculously formed his body in his mother's womb. Here he finds reason for trust, and he expresses his belief that there is a divine plan for his life: "You have fashioned and made me; will you then turn and destroy me? Remember that you have made me of clay; and will you turn me to dust again? Did you not pour me out like milk and curdle me like cheese? You clothed me with skin and flesh, and knit me together with bones and sinews. You have granted me life and steadfast love; and your care has preserved my spirit" (Job 10:8-12).
Job 31:15 Did not he who made me in the womb make him? Did not the same One fashion us before our birth?
Job 31:18 Though like a father God has reared me from my youth, guiding me even from my mother's wombExpressions of awe and wonder at God's intervention in the life of a child in its mother's womb occur again and again in the Psalms.In the Old Testament, sterility is dreaded as a curse, while numerous offspring are viewed as a blessing: "Sons are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward" (Ps 127:3; cf. Ps 128:3-4).
Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Psalms 139: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
King David speaks of his life before birth many times in the Psalms-- as a person very special and dear to Almighty God, yet still unseen and unknown by man.
Proverbs 24:11 Rescue those who are unjustly sentenced to death; do not stand back and let them die.
Proverbs 31:8 Open your mouth for the speechless, In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Sirach 50:22 And now, bless the God of all, who has done wondrous things on earth; Who fosters men's growth from their mother's womb, and fashions them according to his will!
Isaiah 49:1 "Yahweh called me when I was in the womb, before my birth he had pronounced my name." Can a woman forget her nursing child, And not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, Yet I will not forget you. 16 See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands.
Jeremiah 1:5 "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you."
Amos 1:13 This is what the LORD says: "For three sins of Ammon, even for four, I will not turn back [my wrath]. Because he ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in order to extend his borders.
(From The Gospel of Life CHAPTER II - I CAME THAT THEY MAY HAVE LIFE)
How can anyone think that even a single moment of this marvelous process of the unfolding of life could be separated from the wise and loving work of the Creator, and left prey to human caprice? Certainly the mother of the seven brothers did not think so; she professes her faith in God, both the source and guarantee of life from its very conception, and the foundation of the hope of new life beyond death: "I do not know how you came into being in my womb. It was not I who gave you life and breath, nor I who set in order the elements within each of you. Therefore the Creator of the world, who shaped the beginning of man and devised the origin of all things, will in his mercy give life and breath back to you again, since you now forget yourselves for the sake of his laws" (2 Mac 7:22-23).
The Gospel according to St. Luke Chapter 1 41 When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the voice of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.
St. Paul the Apostle But when He who had set me apart before I was born, and had called me through His grace (The Letter of Paul to the Galatians 1:15)
Click here for:
Teachings Against Abortion from the Early Church Fathers, Doctors of the Church and Others
Consistent Teachings through the Centuries into Our Modern day
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Bibles Teachings Against Abortion
by Rev. Frank A. Pavone
An embryo is an individual, no matter how small. While the embryo receives cells from the mother and the father, it is neither the mother nor the father."
The late Pro-Lifer Frances Schaeffer answered the problem of abortion in Christian nations this way:
"Every abortion clinic should have a
sign over the door that says
'Open by permission of the
churches in this area.'"
In Isaiah, chapter 43, verse 4, God says,
"You are precious to me and I love you."
READ THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH.
LEARN WHAT HIPPOCRATES WROTE ABOUT ABORTION MORE THAN 400 YEARS BEFORE CHRIST!
You are not alone…
The following quote has provided inspiration for many in the pro-life cause:
"When the time comes, as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I've often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God -- and a terror will rip your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there'll be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world -- and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, 'Spare him,because he loved us!'"
Congressman Henry Hyde
YOU CAN NOT BE BOTH A
CHRISTIAN AND PRO-CHOICE!
Reflections on the Visitation Account from the Gospel According to
St. Luke; with it's Teaching on the Sacredness of Life within the Womb
by Kevin M. Jeanfreau, Founder Christian Patriots For Life
August 28, 2001
People say that Jesus never taught about the sacredness of Life in the womb. These need to reread and pray over the first chapter of Luke.
Not only did Jesus teach that life in the womb is sacred- HE TAUGHT THIS TRUTH FROM THE WOMB!
There are many places in scripture that teach about the sacredness of life within the womb, but none more beautifully than Luke's account of the Visitation.
Scholars believe Jesus was perhaps a couple of weeks along from conception and John the Baptist about Six months from conception at the Visitation.
Tertullian who lived 160-240 was one of the early Church Fathers. He teaches on the Visitation in his work De A ninta 26:4 "They [John and Jesus] were both alive while still in the womb. Elizabeth rejoiced as the infant leaped in her womb; Mary glorifies the Lord because Christ within inspired her. Each mother recognizes her child and is known by her child who is alive, being not merely souls but also spirits."
Consider this passage from The Gospel of Life by Pope John Paul II Section 45
The New Testament revelation confirms the indisputable recognition of the value of life from its very beginning. The exaltation of fruitfulness and the eager expectation of life resound in the words with which Elizabeth rejoices in her pregnancy: "The Lord has looked on me... to take away my reproach among men" (Lk 1:25). And even more so, the value of the person from the moment of conception is celebrated in the meeting between the Virgin Mary and Elizabeth, and between the two children whom they are carrying in the womb. It is precisely the children who reveal the advent of the Messianic age: In their meeting, the redemptive power of the presence of the Son of God among men first becomes operative. As Saint Ambrose writes: "The arrival of Mary and the blessings of the Lord's presence are also speedily declared... Elizabeth was the first to hear the voice; but John was the first to experience grace. She heard according to the order of nature; he leaped because of the mystery. She recognized the arrival of Mary; he the arrival of the Lord. The woman recognized the woman's arrival; the child, that of the Child. The women speak of grace; the babies make it effective from within to the advantage of their mothers who, by a double miracle, prophesy under the inspiration of their children. The infant leaped, the mother was filled with the Spirit. The mother was not filled before the son, but after the son was filled with the Holy Spirit, he filled his mother too".[36]
Consider also this excerpt from footnote #60 of the same work:
"So too the Evangelist Luke in the magnificent episode of the meeting of the two mothers, Elizabeth and Mary, and their two sons, John the Baptist and Jesus, still hidden in their mothers' wombs (cf. 1:39-45) emphasizes how even before their birth the two little ones are able to communicate: The child recognizes the coming of the Child and leaps for joy."
Homily by Fr. James Gilhooley Fr. Gilhooley homilies (cycle C) available on CD. Send $10 to him at: 112 Patchett Way, Montgomery, NY 12549. 24 DEC 2000 Fourth Sunday of Advent - Cycle C Luke 1:39-45 Father Gihooley states "Jesus has clearly taught us that abortion is wrong, He declares, by the decisive facts of His early days in Mary's womb."
Both of these unborn were manifesting their Personhood- their unique individual identity.
Pro-choicers say that the unborn are of the human species but are not "persons", and yet clearly from all Christian teaching the Unborn Person in the womb of Mary was none other than the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. God became man, took on Himself the flesh of the Virgin. He became like us in all things but sin.
In all truth it can be said that the Baptist already was making known the coming of the Messiah! This unborn person was already living out his calling. John the Baptist who years later would be heard to cry out "Behold the Lamb of God" (John 1:29) was already crying out Behold the Lamb of God--silently, for both he and the Lamb were yet unborn.
By the Spirit John knew before his mother that Mary was pregnant with the Savior of the world. Elizabeth is acknowledging that Mary is carrying "my Lord." There can be no doubt whatsoever that Elizabeth knew the Lord was a person, even if unborn. So we see unborn persons communicating with each other as well as born and unborn communicating with each other.
What better place could Jesus have taught the truth of the sacredness of life in the womb than from inside the womb Himself. And how profound it is that the first person He would teach was also in the womb.
Here it must be remembered that the Lord taught in many different ways: With parables, from the scriptures, and through events around Him. But His greatest teachings were the ones where He taught not with words but by example--preeminently, His holy Passion. The Unborn Jesus most fittingly taught the sacredness of life within the womb, not with words, but by His own Sacred Life within the womb--which if prayerfully studied teaches volumes.
To learn more about St. Luke-- physician, author of the Third Gospel and The Acts of the Apostles visit
St. Luke... The Biblical Storyteller.
The Visitation
In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a city of Judah, and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. And when Elizabeth heard thegreeting of Mary, the baby leapedin her womb; and Elizabeth wasfilled with the Holy Spirit and she exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and Blessed is the fruit of your womb! And why is this granted me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For behold, when the voice of your greeting came to my ears, the babe in my womb leaped for joy. And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spokento her from the Lord". And Mary said,
The Magnificat
"My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for He has regarded the low estate of His handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; for He who Is mighty has done great things for me, and Holy Is His Name; and His Mercy is on those who fear Him from generation to generation.
He had shown strength with His Arm, He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts, He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted those of low degree; He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of His Mercy, as He spoke to our fathers,to Abraham and to his prosperity forever.
"Luke 1: 39-55
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A Prayer to End Abortion
Heavenly Father have mercy on our nation and the world. Through the light and truth of Your Spirit, return our society
to a system of justice that holds all life sacred.
I pray for the children who today will be returned to You
by the martyrdom of abortion.
May the sufferings and blood of these holy innocents,
be united with the Most Precious Blood of the Lamb,
Who won for us salvation.
May they help obtain through You, Author of all life
an end to the slaughter throughout the world.
In the most powerful Name of Your Son our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
Some notes: I have not seen a prayer that specifically unites the countless victims sufferings and blood to the One Who's Sufferings and Blood was at once all sufficient for the salvation of the world. Perhaps they, more than we, can through their martyrdom and return to the foot of the throne of the Lamb; obtain the pardon and grace from God needed to end the slaughter.
The Master Himself said what greater love can a man have than this - but to lay down one's life for his friends. If we pray that these children's martyrdom not be just a silent one, but one laid down for their future unborn friends; then these might see the light of God's day and a holier society than ours today, when all life is universally acknowledged to be sacred. By God's permitting will, abortion can abort itself. For Almighty God thwarts the wicked by their own designs, raises the holy victims before the altar of the Lamb; and in the end makes a footstool of the wicked.
Kevin M. Jeanfreau - November 20, 2000
Written at the St. Joseph guesthouse near
Our Lady of the Angels monastery in Hanceville, Alabama.
December 28
This feast commemorates Herod's slaughter of all boys under two years old in Bethlehem as recorded in Matthew 2:16-18. When Herod learned that a new king had been born from the wise men, fear of losing his power compelled him to massacre the children in an attempt to eradicate the threat. Joseph, however, had already taken Jesus and Mary out of danger into Egypt after being warned by an angel. Although no other historical record of the slaughter exists, Herod was famous for such cruelty and not all of his crimes were recorded. Also, Bethlehem was a small town which may not have merited a note in the current histories. For this reason, historians estimate the number of children martyred between six and twenty-five.
The Church calls them
"flores martyrum"
-- the only ones to die
not for Christ,
but instead of Christ.
What can be said of today's Holy Innocents?
They die by abortion and euthanasia, because those who murder them refuse to accept and live in truth. Herod, and all the tyrants through the ages, including the ones in today's culture of death will kill everyone- including innocent children waiting to be born.
The Herod's of today cannot kill the Truth, Who is Christ, they kill millions of innocents instead.