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Christians have always stood opposed to abortion. Abortion was common in the Roman Empire in which Christianity was born. Though there is no explicit New Testament reference to it, abortion was clearly condemned in the Christian literature immediately following the New Testament. For instance, in about AD 100 the Didache instructed, “And now the second commandment of the teaching. Do not murder…do not engage in pederasty…do not use enchanted potions, do not abort a fetus or kill a child that is born” (2:1-2). A law was passed in AD 374 that outlawed infanticide, child abandonment and abortion in the Roman Empire. Christians were very influential in the passing of that law.
The Bible doesn’t allow Christians to be silent on this issue. Solomon said, “Rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. if you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay everyone according to what they have done?” (Prov. 24:11-12 NIV).
When discussing this topic with a non-Christian, they won’t accept arguments from Scripture condemning abortion. Arguments will have to be made from reason. That fetuses are not qualitatively different from children who have been born is clear from the acronym SLED. The difference between the two is:
S-ize: fetuses are smaller than children who have been born, but that doesn’t make them less human. Hillary Clinton is smaller than Barack Obama, but she’s not less human.
L-evel of Development: fetuses are less developed than children who have been born, but that doesn’t make them less human. A one-month-old baby is less developed than a teenager, but it isn’t less human.
E-nvironment: fetuses are in utero until birth. However, environment doesn’t determine one’s humanity. Are astronauts less human while walking on the moon than they are while walking on the earth?
D-egree of Dependence: fetuses are more dependent upon their mothers than children who have been born, but that doesn’t make them less human. A diabetic is dependent upon those who manufacture their insulin, but their dependence doesn’t make them less human than a non-diabetic person.