Does Exodus 21:22-25 support abortion?

A common claim by abortion promoters is to say that the Bible condones abortion. One scripture used for this is Exodus 21:22-25. Does it condone abortions? Let’s look into it…

So does Exodus 21:22-25 support abortions? Let’s look at the passage:

Exodus 21:22-25 “If people are fighting and hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman’s husband demands and the court allows. 23 But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life, 24 eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, 25 burn for burn, wound for wound, bruise for bruise.

The argument goes that these two men hit a woman, which causes a miscarriage. If the woman is not hurt, there is a fine, but if the woman is hurt, then they should be punished like for like. So the argument is that the law is about whether the woman is hurt or not, and that if her child dies it is only punishable with a fine, so it can’t be that important.

But is this an accurate interpretation?

If we look in the context of the chapter itself, verses 12 to 36 covers different kinds of bodily harm. Already in verse 12 through 19 covers intentional murder, involuntary manslaughter, and accidental bodily harm. This covers all people, men, women and children alike. So the need for a law for what to do if a woman is unintentionally injured is already covered. There is no need for verses 22-25 to cover the rights of a woman in detail.

However verses 22-25 talks about a pregnant woman. So the difference is that she is not alone, she is carrying another human person in her womb. And the law in verse 22-25 concerns that human person.

Since other laws already covers what happens to the woman, what verses 22-25 is saying is that if someone hits a pregnant woman so that she gives birth prematurely, but there is no injury to the child, then there will be a fine. However if there is serious injury to the child then the offender must pay like for like.

In other words if the woman gives birth prematurely and the child dies, then the offender is to be executed just as would be the case if he killed any other person, whether adult or child.

This is also in harmony with the Bible’s overarching emphasis on the sanctity of life.

So no, Exodus 21:22-25 can not be used as support for abortions. Rather it shows how serious God views the intentional or unintentional killing of an unborn child.

_{Image courtesy of Marncov}