---
title: "Exodus 20:13"
description: "The sixth commandment forbids the intentional killing of innocent human beings. If the unborn child is a human being (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:22-25; Psalm 139), then abortion falls squarely under this prohibition. The category is 'murder,' not 'choice' or 'healthcare.'"
type: "scripture"
book: "Exodus"
chapter: 20
verses: "13"
translation: "NASB"
refutes: "Pro-choice framing"
affirms_abolition: true
themes:
  - "murder"
  - "sanctity of life"
  - "moral clarity"
  - "personhood"
source_url: "https://www.abhortion.org/scripture/exodus-20-13.html"
---

# Exodus 20:13

Book of Exodus · Chapter 20

## The text

> “You shall not murder.”
> — Exodus 20:13, NASB

**The claim this verse counters:** "Abortion is a private medical decision, not murder."

## The argument

The sixth commandment forbids the intentional killing of innocent human beings. If the unborn child is a human being (Genesis 9:6; Exodus 21:22-25; Psalm 139), then abortion falls squarely under this prohibition. The category is 'murder,' not 'choice' or 'healthcare.'

## Context & notes

The Hebrew ratsach denotes unlawful killing of the innocent. Abolitionists insist the debate is not really about the commandment but about the humanity of the victim — which Scripture and embryology both settle. Framing determines everything: if abortion is murder, then 'reducing' it by increments while permitting some is like permitting some murder.

## Themes

- murder
- sanctity of life
- moral clarity
- personhood

## Discussion questions

1. If we agree 'You shall not murder' is binding, what single question decides whether abortion violates it?
2. Why do so many arguments about abortion avoid the question of what the unborn is?

## Source transcript

Drawn from Does the Pro-Life Movement Hate Justice? (T. Russell Hunter, 'Justice Alone') — Grouped with Genesis 9:6 and Leviticus as the 'consistent' witness that child sacrifice is 'plain and simple murder.'.

## Related

**Related scriptures:**

- [Genesis 9:6](genesis-9-6.md)
- [Exodus 21:22-25](exodus-21-22-25.md)
- [Psalm 139:13-16](psalm-139-13-16.md)

**Related arguments:**

- [The unborn bear the image of God, so abortion is murder — a different category than 'a hard choice'](../arguments/arg-image-of-God.md)
- [“The unborn is not a baby or a person until birth (or until viability); personhood is…”](../arguments/def-not-a-person-until-birth.md)
- [“The early embryo is merely a clump of cells or a 'potential' human, not an actual human…”](../arguments/def-clump-of-cells.md)

## Sources

- [Science is clear: Each new human life begins at fertilization](https://www.princeton.edu/~prolife/articles/embryoquotes.html)
  Princeton Pro-Life (compilation of embryology texts) — science compilation

## Attribution

Verse text is quoted from the NASB. Scripture quotations taken from the New American Standard Bible® (NASB), Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org