When it comes to abortion, both sides have cherry picked Bible verses that they believe validates their point of view. I don’t believe all who claim to be pro-life are truly pro-life, but rather pro-birth. In my opinion pro-life is to believe in life from the womb to the tomb. In that same grain, I don’t believe those who claim that they are pro-choice, are abortion supporters.

Let me stipulate that I am on the side of pro-choice because, like most on the pro-choice side, I believe that God gave all of us the gift of free will. Keeping that in mind, here is my view on a few of the typical scriptures invoked.

When God created Adam, He created him from Mother Earth’s womb. And while it was a beautifully formed piece of clay, it was still just clay. According to Genesis 2:7, it wasn’t until God breathed in that clay’s nostrils that it became a living soul. And, was subsequently named Adam. So, does life begin at the implanting of the seed, even though there is no breath or heartbeat? Does it not begin until the baby is born and takes its first breath? Or, not until it is fully formed in the womb?

The Christian right believes Jeremiah 1:5 gives the answer, because God declared that He knew Jeremiah before he was formed in his mother’s womb. It goes on to say that He justified Jeremiah and set him apart to be a prophet. Seeing that He didn’t say that to any other prophet, I would ask did He not know them? Did He not know the babies that had miscarried in their mother’s wombs also? What about those fetuses that were not viable, for a myriad of reasons? Was this declaration specifically for the boy prophet, Jeremiah? You decide.

The Christian left quote Exodus 21:22-25. This is where God decrees that if a man strikes a pregnant woman and causes her to lose her baby, he is not subject to murder charges. His only punishment is ordained to be by the husband’s hands. They believe this means because the baby has not yet breathed on his own outside of the womb it is not a living person. The US government surely believes that concept when it comes to claiming dependents on our taxes. Don’t they?

Some people have quoted verses like Numbers 5:11-31, regarding God giving the priest the authority to test a woman’s faithfulness. That happened when the husband suspected that the child his wife was carrying was not his. It was called, “The Sin of Jealousy.”

The stated verse gives detailed instructions on a concoction in which the priest was to require the woman to drink before the entire congregation. (How humiliating!) It goes on to tell what curse would be put on her physical body for the remainder of her life. In essence, if the baby was not her husband’s the concoction would have an adverse effect on her womb and the baby would miscarry. However, if she had been faithful the baby would not miscarry. No harm, no foul! But, wait! No apology from the husband for his false accusation? How could that be?

Those are just a few of the verses that many embrace to validate their claims. There is another verse that I personally twist and turn, and cherry pick when dealing with the issue. That is Ezekiel 16:6-8: “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Later I passed by, and when I looked at you and saw that you were old enough for love, I spread the corner of my garment over you and covered your naked body.” What if he was talking to the fetus struggling it its own blood? What if His garment was his anointing?

The debate over a woman’s autonomy over her own body will never be reconciled in our lifetime. However, I’d like for everyone to consider this undeniable truth. It’s her rights that are being taken away today in the United States of America, but it just might be yours tomorrow! Would you want someone else’s religious belief to have authority over yours?

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Read EJ Brock's earlier POH contributions "Even Some Whites Preach That Africans are God’s Chosen People" and How Did Moses Hide Amongst the Egyptians? She also wrote two award-winning spiritual paranormal sagas: “A Spirit Mate Love Story” and “A Sanctioned Mate Series."