In the coming weeks, it is expected that MPs in parliament will debate and vote on several amendments to the Government’s Criminal Justice Bill, including one that seeks to decriminalise abortion, and one that seeks to lower the upper legal limit from twenty-four to twenty-two weeks.

For many women, making a decision about having an abortion is one of the most emotionally traumatic events of their lives. There are sharp divisions between those with ‘pro-life’ and ‘pro-choice’ convictions, and it can be hard to talk about the issue without provoking bitter disagreement and strong emotions. As Christians we are called to love God and our neighbours, so we need to think about the right way to respond to this sensitive and emotive issue as followers of Jesus, balancing compassion with justice, for both pregnant women and their unborn children. 

What is the situation now?

The Abortion Act was passed in the UK in 1967.  In his book Matters of Life and Death, John Wyatt notes that the motivation of the original authors was a genuinely humanitarian one, seeking to protect women from the dangers of illegal and dangerous abortions, and to provide a legal remedy for those found to be carrying severely malformed infants. There was also an argument that by preventing unwanted children from being born, they would be protected from a childhood of abuse, and that it would allow doctors to carry out abortions in ‘hard cases’ without fear of prosecution. 

In 2021 there were 214,869 (medical and surgical) abortions recorded in England and Wales, a rate that has been increasing over the last 10 years. At present, abortion is legal up to 24 weeks provided that two doctors agree that one of the conditions of the abortion act is met [i]. In 2021, 209,939 abortions were carried out (98% of all abortions) under the grounds that continuing with the pregnancy would pose greater risk to the mother’s physical or mental health, and 99.9% of these were specifically due to the deemed risk to the mother’s mental health. In reality the mental health provision is applied on request and the level of evidence required to demonstrate the risk of poor mental health if the pregnancy continued is extremely low. 

There were 3,370 abortions carried out (1.6% of all abortions) due to a high likelihood that the child would suffer from serious mental or physical handicap if it were to be born. This figure has been rising due to increased availability of early pregnancy prenatal testing for chromosomal abnormalities such as Down’s Syndrome. There were also 276 abortions recorded over 24 weeks gestation, generally if the mother’s life was at risk or if a serious disability was identified.

It is estimated that approximately one third of women will have an abortion in their lifetime, and in 2021 43% of women undergoing an abortion had had one or more abortions previously. This is undoubtedly an issue that directly impacts some brothers and sisters in our church, or their close friends and family. 

What are the proposed changes?

The amendment is being brought by Dame Diana Johnson MP, and intends to change the law to ensure the “removal of women from the criminal law related to abortion”, so that “no offence is committed by a woman acting in relation to her own pregnancy”. The explanatory notes state that “no woman would be liable for a prison sentence as a result of seeking to end her own pregnancy”[ii].

One of the key arguments driving this campaign is the rise in the number of women who have faced prosecution for late-term (i.e. after 24 weeks) abortion. Some have been wrongly investigated after a natural stillbirth, further traumatising women who are grieving the death of their unborn child.  Since 2022 at least 6 women have been taken to court for ending their late-term pregnancies [iii] usually after buying tablets online to induce abortion, which is both illegal and potentially unsafe. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) supports decriminalisation, stating that instead of prosecution, these women should be treated with care and compassion. They have also issued guidance that doctors should no longer inform the police when they suspect that an illegal abortion has taken place [iv].

Another MP, Caroline Ansell is tabling an amendment that seeks to reduce the normal upper time limit for abortion from 24 to 22 weeks. This is to reflect the huge increase in survival rates for babies born at 23 weeks over the past decade (some will remember the answered prayers for Lucy in the early days of our congregation) . This amendment would follow the same reasoning that led to a reduction in the upper limit from 28 to 24 weeks in 1990, also due to increased survival rates for those born between 24 and 28 weeks.

A debate full of contradictions

The debate on attitudes towards unborn human beings is full of inconsistencies and contradictions. For example, as a doctor I have worked to save the life of premature babies born at 23 weeks, whilst in the same building colleagues are performing surgical terminations on fetuses of the same gestation. At the same time, the government has introduced baby loss certificates for those who experience the unexpected loss of a pregnancy (miscarriage) before 24 weeks. Health Secretary Victoria Atkins, who has indicated she will vote this month to decriminalise abortion, also said that “losing a baby can be a hugely traumatic event and the introduction of certificates to formally acknowledge the loss of life is a positive step towards better supporting women and parents affected.”[v]

Our laws rightly seek equal opportunity for the disabled and mentally ill, whist at the same time allowing us to ensure that babies with disabilities can be screened out before birth. Technology such as 3D ultrasound gives us a fascinating insight into the development of babies in the womb, leaving us in no doubt that these developing organisms are human beings, whilst failing to afford them the rights that they will attain immediately after birth. 

We must ask then, what is the significance of the umbilical cord, or the short journey from inside the womb into the world undertaken at birth. On what basis does society only bestow the full rights of personhood after birth rather than before?

The answer to this question is almost always that the autonomy of the pregnant woman over her own body is paramount and her rights override those of the unborn child. Over twenty organisations have signed a statement laying out their justification for abortion and future priorities for abortion provision. “We believe in a woman’s right to choose… that abortion is healthcare… like any other medical procedure…” You can read more on the RCOG website here.

A Christian response

This is not the place for an exhaustive treatment of the Christian moral and ethical response to abortion. Hundreds of books have already been written on the topic, and the majority of Christians agree that in most situations, intentionally ending a pregnancy is wrong. I want to give a few guiding principles, and then specifically address the upcoming debate and vote in parliament. 

Love God
Jesus tells us to love God with all our heart, soul and mind (Matt 22:27). In part, loving God means caring about the things he cares about, and following his commands in gratitude for the love that he has shown us. We don’t find the word abortion in the Bible, but we do see lots of principles and instructions that are relevant. We read in Genesis 1:27 that we are made in God’s image, and this forms the bedrock of our understanding of humanity, including the understanding that we should have the highest regard for human life. Our value as human beings comes from him, not ourselves. 

Love our neighbours 
We are told not only to love God, but to love our neighbours too. Our pregnant neighbours who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy; our neighbours who have previously had an abortion; those who campaign for more progressive abortion rights. As stated before, women who are seeking or who have had an abortion are often doing so in the midst of much distress and heartache. We must show them Jesus’ compassion, mindful that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, as well as theirs. This means that when we talk about abortion, we should do so gently, wanting the best for others and not just wanting to win an argument. 

Jesus’ command means that we should love our unborn neighbours too. Psalm 139 shows us how God is intimately involved in forming our bodies, even in the womb (see also Job 31, Is 49). In Luke 1 we read of the unborn John the Baptist leaping for joy at the arrival of Mary. The same Greek word for unborn John is used for infant Jesus after he was born. Unborn children should be seen as actors with parts to play in God’s biblical drama. 

Christians do have different opinions about the status of early embryos (up to a few weeks) and exactly when they become a human being made in God’s image – is it at the moment of conception, implantation, when there is a heartbeat, when they start to move, when they can feel pain, or when they can survive outside the womb without support? Personally I think it is difficult to identify a specific moment at which an embryo intrinsically changes and becomes a ‘person’. There isn’t time here to go through all the reasons for this, but as a Christian, where there is uncertainty, I believe it is appropriate to lean in favour of protection rather than destruction. Whilst I hold my own convictions, I believe that Christians who have read their Bibles can hold different opinions in good conscience specifically about early embryos. (I don’t think there is room for disagreement about the moral status of the unborn at later stages of development). These convictions regarding the early embryo will also inform our opinions about treatments such as IVF for those struggling with fertility, or embryonic stem cell therapies for those with degenerative health conditions. 

Central to biblical morality is the concept that the strong care for the weak and should bear one another’s burdens (Acts 20:35, Galatians 6:2). We care for our infant children when they are totally dependent on us, we care for ageing parents, and we care for those in our church family with particular needs. That means as Christians we should not only show care for the unborn, but also resist the idea that disabled babies are too much of a burden on society. Iceland celebrates the fact that virtually no babies with Down’s Syndrome are born there due to the ‘success’ of antenatal screening and abortion. As a church we can bear witness to the love and joy that people with Down’s Syndrome can provide, so this feels particularly troubling. 

There are of course hard and rare examples where Christians may agree that ending a pregnancy is the right course of action. For example, if the life of the mother is genuinely at risk by continuing the pregnancy (for example an ectopic pregnancy or some maternal cardiac conditions) it can be argued that death has already entered the pregnancy, and that saving the life of the mother is better than both the mother and child dying. There is much more that could be said, and I encourage you to read John Wyatt’s book (above) to help you address these issues further.

What can I do?

Here are three simple things that you could consider in light of the upcoming votes in parliament:

1. Pray for our MPs that God would direct them to value unborn lives and to genuinely care for women in difficult situations (1 Tim 1:1-2). Pray that MPs would listen to the concerns of those who contact them. Pray that women would be protected from the dangers of self-administered late term abortions that could result from decriminalisation.  

2. Write to your MP asking them to reject the decriminalisation amendment and to vote in favour of a lower upper limit (22 weeks). You can do this by writing your own letter and emailing it directly to your MP, or more easily by using the letter template available at https://righttolife.org.uk/littlefighters.

3. Remember that God is sovereign. Our government exists because God allows it to (Romans 13:1, Daniel 2:20-21) and he is in control.  
 

[i] https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/abortion-statistics-for-england-and-wales-2021/abortion-statistics-england-and-wales-2021
[ii] https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-04/0010/amend/criminal_rm_pbc_1207.pdf
[iii] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/23/mps-to-get-free-vote-on-decriminalising-abortion-in-england-and-wales
[iv] https://www.rcog.org.uk/news/rcog-issues-guidance-for-healthcare-professionals-on-involving-the-police-following-abortion-and-pregnancy-loss/
[v] https://www.gov.uk/government/news/baby-loss-certificate-launchedto-recognise-parents-grief#:~:text=Baby%20loss%20certificates%20for%20parents,today%20(22%20February%202024).&text=Parents%20who%20have%20experienced%20the,their%20grief%20recognised%20from%20today.