---
title: "Proverbs 17:15"
description: "To 'justify the wicked' — to legally acquit those who take innocent life — is called an 'abomination.' Abolitionists apply this to statutory exceptions that pre-acquit everyone who procures an abortion: the law declares guiltless what God does not, which Scripture names as abhorrent."
type: "scripture"
book: "Proverbs"
chapter: 17
verses: "15"
translation: "NASB"
refutes: "Pro-life incrementalism"
affirms_abolition: true
themes:
  - "acquitting the guilty"
  - "abomination"
  - "exception clauses"
  - "equal protection"
  - "justice"
source_url: "https://www.abhortion.org/scripture/proverbs-17-15.html"
---

# Proverbs 17:15

Book of Proverbs · Chapter 17

## The text

> He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord.
> — Proverbs 17:15, NASB

**The claim this verse counters:** "Laws should not prosecute women who obtain abortions; blanket immunity is just and prudent."

## The argument

To 'justify the wicked' — to legally acquit those who take innocent life — is called an 'abomination.' Abolitionists apply this to statutory exceptions that pre-acquit everyone who procures an abortion: the law declares guiltless what God does not, which Scripture names as abhorrent.

## Context & notes

Central to the abolitionist critique of the 'nothing shall be construed to authorize prosecution of any woman' clause found in equal-protection/personhood bills (e.g., H.R. 722, 119th Congress). Note the honest tension: many pro-lifers argue for prosecutorial discretion or treating coerced/deceived mothers as second victims (see the steelman in the arguments file), not for 'justifying the wicked.' Present both.

## Themes

- acquitting the guilty
- abomination
- exception clauses
- equal protection
- justice

## Discussion questions

1. Scripture calls 'justifying the wicked' an abomination. Does a blanket immunity clause justify (declare guiltless) everyone who procures an abortion?
2. How do we distinguish biblically between prosecutorial mercy toward a coerced mother and a statute that pre-acquits all mothers by design?
3. Is 'we won't prosecute anyone' the same as 'we establish justice'?

## Source transcript

Drawn from The Sin of Pro-Life Incrementalism (T. Russell Hunter) — Cited among the wisdom texts: 'those who acquit the guilty... abominations all throughout the proverbs.'.

## Related

**Related scriptures:**

- [Deuteronomy 16:19](deuteronomy-16-19.md)
- [Leviticus 19:15](leviticus-19-15.md)
- [Isaiah 10:1-2](isaiah-10-1-2.md)
- [Habakkuk 1:4](habakkuk-1-4.md)

**Related arguments:**

- [“Making mothers subject to prosecution (up to capital murder) is unjust, cruel, and…”](../arguments/def-prosecute-women.md)
- [“Equal protection does not require prosecuting mothers; targeting abortionists (and…”](../arguments/arg-equal-protection-14th.md)
- [God commands 'justice, and only justice' — not partial or deferred justice](../arguments/arg-justice-only.md)

## Sources

- [H.R.722 — Life at Conception Act (119th Congress): 'Nothing in this bill shall be construed to authorize the prosecution of any woman for the death of her unborn child.'](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/722)
  U.S. Congress — primary/legislation
- [The Abolitionists Are Wrong: Equal Protection Does Not Mean a Mother... (opposing view / steelman)](https://www.texasallianceforlife.org/the-abolitionists-are-wrong-by-chris-maska/)
  Chris Maska, Texas Alliance for Life — opposing view

## 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