---
title: "Scripture"
description: "Verses used to refute claims of the pro-choice position (the unborn is not a person / not a baby until born) and of the pro-life incrementalist position (partial or delayed justice is acceptable), and to affirm the abolitionist mandate of establishing full, equal justice for the preborn."
type: "index"
source_url: "https://www.abhortion.org/scripture.html"
---

# Scripture

Each entry pairs a passage with the specific claim it answers, plus exegesis and sourcing. Filed in canonical order.

- [Genesis 9:6 (NASB)](scripture/genesis-9-6.md) — answers: "The unborn are not persons, so abortion is not murder; and even if it is wrong, the state need not punish it as it…"
- [Exodus 20:13 (NASB)](scripture/exodus-20-13.md) — answers: "Abortion is a private medical decision, not murder."
- [Exodus 21:22-25 (NASB)](scripture/exodus-21-22-25.md) — answers: "The unborn child has a lesser legal status than a born person; harming the unborn is not equivalent to harming a person."
- [Leviticus 19:15 (NASB)](scripture/leviticus-19-15.md) — answers: "Getting partial protection passed is a moral win even if the law is unequal."
- [Leviticus 20:1-5 (NASB)](scripture/leviticus-20-1-5.md) — answers: "Even if abortion is like child sacrifice, the state may tolerate it rather than punish it."
- [Deuteronomy 16:19 (NASB)](scripture/deuteronomy-16-19.md) — answers: "It is acceptable to protect some children (e.g., after a heartbeat) while leaving others unprotected — partial…"
- [Deuteronomy 16:20 (NASB)](scripture/deuteronomy-16-20.md) — answers: "Some justice now (with exceptions) is better than no justice; we will pursue full justice later."
- [1 Samuel 15:22-23 (NASB)](scripture/1-samuel-15-22-23.md) — answers: "Partial obedience, adjusted to the will of the people, still counts as obedience."
- [Job 34:12 (NASB)](scripture/job-34-12.md) — answers: "God's methods can be improved upon by human strategy; His way of justice 'won't work.'"
- [Psalm 33:5 (NASB)](scripture/psalm-33-5.md) — answers: "Justice and mercy are in tension, so mercy (sparing the guilty) can override justice."
- [Psalm 51:5 (NASB)](scripture/psalm-51-5.md) — answers: "The individual does not exist at conception."
- [Psalm 139:13-16 (NASB)](scripture/psalm-139-13-16.md) — answers: "The being in the womb is not yet a person with identity, dignity, or a future."
- [Proverbs 17:15 (NASB)](scripture/proverbs-17-15.md) — answers: "Laws should not prosecute women who obtain abortions; blanket immunity is just and prudent."
- [Proverbs 21:15 (NASB)](scripture/proverbs-21-15.md) — answers: "Calling for the full exercise of justice is harsh or extreme."
- [Proverbs 24:11-12 (NASB)](scripture/proverbs-24-11-12.md) — answers: "We are not responsible for those we cannot save through available political means."
- [Proverbs 29:25 (NASB)](scripture/proverbs-29-25.md) — answers: "We must calibrate our demands to what the public will accept."
- [Proverbs 31:8-9 (NASB)](scripture/proverbs-31-8-9.md) — answers: "Advocacy for the unborn is optional or secondary."
- [Ecclesiastes 8:11 (NASB)](scripture/ecclesiastes-8-11.md) — answers: "We can defer criminalizing abortion to a later stage ('justice later') once the culture is ready."
- [Isaiah 10:1-2 (NASB)](scripture/isaiah-10-1-2.md) — answers: "Writing a bill that permits some abortion (a heartbeat, pain, or ultrasound bill) is a righteous step in the right…"
- [Isaiah 61:8 (NASB)](scripture/isaiah-61-8.md) — answers: "God is primarily concerned with saving some, not with justice as such."
- [Jeremiah 1:5 (NASB)](scripture/jeremiah-1-5.md) — answers: "There is no personal identity or purpose before birth."
- [Ezekiel 45:9-10 (NASB)](scripture/ezekiel-45-9-10.md) — answers: "It is acceptable for the law to weigh some lives as more protectable than others."
- [Amos 5:14-15 (NASB)](scripture/amos-5-14-15.md) — answers: "Loving good is enough; establishing justice in law can wait."
- [Micah 6:8 (NASB)](scripture/micah-6-8.md) — answers: "Prudence and strategy (our own 'better plan') can override the plain command to do justice now."
- [Habakkuk 1:4 (NASB)](scripture/habakkuk-1-4.md) — answers: "A 'pro-life' stance that opposes abortion in sentiment but not in law is sufficient."
- [Matthew 23:23 (NASB)](scripture/matthew-23-23.md) — answers: "Justice is an Old Testament concern superseded by the New Covenant."
- [Matthew 25:41-45 (NASB)](scripture/matthew-25-41-45.md) — answers: "How a nation treats the most vulnerable is not a matter of ultimate, national judgment."
- [Luke 1:41-44 (NASB)](scripture/luke-1-41-44.md) — answers: "It is not a baby until it is born."
- [Romans 14:23 (NASB)](scripture/romans-14-23.md) — answers: "Incrementalism is a faithful, prudent approach."
- [2 Corinthians 4:2 (NASB)](scripture/2-corinthians-4-2.md) — answers: "Shrewd, cautious, culturally-tailored messaging is wise stewardship."
- [James 4:17 (NASB)](scripture/james-4-17.md) — answers: "Incrementalism is merely a different strategy, not a sin."