Abortion Policy and Christian Social Ethics in the Post-Roe United States

Session 1 Pre-Work

Read The Rights of the Fetus and the Principle of Bodily Autonomy. Blog post, 10 minute read.

Video

Session 1 Presentation: Scripture and Science. A 60 minute video and slides, from our July 2022 Zoom class, and now on YouTube. Discussion not recorded.

Session 2 Pre-Work

Read Abortion, Poverty, and Private Property: From the Early Christians to John Locke. Blog post, 10 minute read.

Read Abortion, Poverty, and Private Property: Lessons from Modern U.S. Economic History. Blog post, 10 minute read.

Video

Session 2 Presentation: Abortion, Poverty, and Property Rights. A 50 minute video and slides, from our July 2022 Zoom class, and now on YouTube. Discussion not recorded.

Session 3 Pre-Work

Read The Likely Problems With Law Enforcement Under Dobbs. Blog post, 15 minute read.

Read Abortion, Harm, and Accountability. Blog post, 10 minute read.

Read Abortion, Harm, and Retributive vs. Restorative Justice. Blog post, 15 minute read.

Video

Session 3 Presentation: Abortion, Harm, and Retributive vs. Restorative Justice. A 50 minute video and slides, from our July 2022 Zoom class, and now on YouTube. Discussion not recorded.

This is Session 7: The Powerful vs. the Rest of Society, Part 2 of the Plantation Capitalism vs. Jesus’ Jubilee Economy curriculum

White evangelicals jumped on the fascism train through the issue of abortion. By joining the Reagan coalition, white evangelical Republicans took leadership of the anti-abortion movement from Catholic Democrats. But by joining Reagan's anti-communist coalition and "Southern strategy" to peel off white Southern segregationists from the Democratic Party to the GOP, they moved abortion policy from a social welfare issue to a criminal justice issue.

They also asserted that if you have sex and get pregnant before you're ready, you should have a child as a consequence, and face economic hardship as a punishment. So they agreed with Reagan to dismantle the New Deal with its pro-labor, anti-poverty, democracy of small businesses vision. They supported a "you're on your own" libertarian economics.

Catholics and evangelicals also used abortion as an issue to stave off their fears of science and stay culturally relevant. So they tied their politics of disgust to their fears of science. Which is why they have such a hard time reassessing their views of the fetus when the science of embryology shows us that God does not ensoul the fetus from conception. Early on, probably. Conception? No.

In this video, we explain Biblical passages that impact our interpretation of the fetus: Exodus 21:22 - 25 and Psalm 139. We touch on the difference between the Hebrew and Greek manuscripts of Exodus 21. We highlight how the early Christians approached the science of their day as a helpful and necessary ally, and how the Latin West and the Greek East came to different conclusions about the fetus because they followed different scientific opinions. We appeal to Christians today to treat embryology as a friend and ally in our attempt to know and honor the unborn fetus, and not respond to abortion policy with disgust and fear.

Confront the history and present reality of white evangelicals siding with racial fascism.

1:12 The Comet Pizza Case and How Evangelicals and Catholics Use, and Get Used by, the Emotion of Disgust

5:48 Disgust as a Christian Spiritual Formation Issue

14:34 Abortion in Christian History

30:29 Abortion in US Constitutional Law

35:41 Abortion and Christians in the US from the Great Depression to Reagan

46:00 Why Catholics Changed Their Minds on the Fetus in 1869

53:15 Why God Doesn’t Ensoul the Early Fetus

59:55 Christians Use Abortion as a Political Issue Because They Are Afraid of Science

1:05:55 When Christians Use Retributive Justice to Punish Abortion and Unexpected Pregnancy

All of the podcasts or videos cover Exodus 21:22 - 25 on the fetus, the manuscript disagreements, and how the Greek East and Latin West drew on different scientific sources. We discuss how abortion was used as a political wedge issue, especially by the Reagan coalition tied abortion to capitalism and retributive consequences. Each podcast covered slightly different topics; see comments below:

• My Body, My Choice?

  For Rev. Dr. Jackie Roese and The Marcella Project (September 26, 2022). Dr. Roese said, “I've been quietly asking some of my colleagues if they knew of any scholarship about abortion. Mako Nagasawa's book was everything I was looking for and more.” This podcast covered a bit more about why the ESV Bible and others are wrong about Exodus 21, as well as why differences between the Greek East and Latin West emerged. We also talked about Reagan’s political coalition and how white evangelicals changed how the antiabortion movement was framed, from social welfare to criminalization.

• Abortion Policy and Christian Social Ethics

  For Doug Pagitt and the organization Vote Common Good (September 2, 2022). This is a Facebook Live conversation, almost 90 minutes. This conversation focused a bit more about American politics and legal history, and proposals to bring down the abortion rate.

• Abortion: What Does the Bible Really Say?

  For Rev. S.J. Munson and Majoring in the Majors (July 13, 2022). This was originally a live radio broadcast on Artist First Radio Network; the audio is also available on YouTube.

• Uncomfortable Conversations: Let’s Talk About Abortion

  For the Boston Faith and Justice Network and Director Elizabeth Grady-Harper (June 30, 2022). This is a 60 minute YouTube video, covering a bit more of the Catholic shift in 1869 from quickening to conception, based on a moral probability, not certainty, argument. We touch on the jurisprudence of Roe v. Wade and the implementation of pre-Roe anti-abortion law.

• Abortion and Economic Justice in America

  For Stephen D. Morrison (June 3, 2022). Covers Scripture on the fetus; the early church on abortion and science; how John Calvin’s shift on interest rate lending and John Locke’s theology of private property contribute to economic injustice and an increased abortion rate

• Abortion from Exodus to Evangelicalism with Mako Nagasawa

  For Keeping the Faith (May 20, 2022). Covers Scripture on the fetus; the early church on abortion and science; modern American political history.

• Reclaiming My Theology from Patriarchy and Abortion

  For Reclaiming My Theology (May 3, 2022). Covers Scripture on the fetus; Scripture and early church history give women systemic advantages over men; the current anti-abortion movement uses the principle of meritocracy-retribution: do what you’re supposed to and you’ll have a happy sex-filled marriage with kids; have sex outside marriage and you should be poor; get or perform an abortion and you should be punished.

• Thinking More Clearly About Abortion

  For Gravity Leadership (April 27, 2021). Covers Scripture on the fetus; early church history on abortion; and recent American political history (the Southern Strategy, Reagan and evangelicals) and the current anti-abortion movement.

The Moral Weight of the Fetus and the Disagreement Between English Translations of Exodus 21:22

A list of English translations of Exodus 21:22, from the Hebrew Masoretic, and the perplexing difference about the moral weight of the fetus. When a pregnant woman is struck by others, does that cause a miscarriage or an early but healthy delivery? The Aramaic Targums, the Greek Septuagint, the Latin Vulgate, Wycliffe, New Revised Standard, the New Jerusalem Bible, and Robert Alter’s translation believe that it causes a miscarriage, which carries a fine, which means the fetus is not assigned full human personhood. The Geneva Bible, the King James Version, New American Standard, New International Version, and English Standard Version take the view that the fetus is simply delivered early, which means the fetus is assigned full human personhood.

Why the ESV, NASB, NIV, and KJV Are Wrong About the Fetus and Abortion

A study of two Hebrew words that are both translated “strike” in English shows that “napagh” and “nakah” are not synonyms. “Nagaph” always means “lethal strike” or “mortal blow.” Thus, when the pregnant woman is dealt a “nagaph,” the fetus is miscarried. Since the fetus is not assigned full human personhood, this passage is very relevant to modern discussions about abortions. Unfortunately, some English translations — KJV, NASB, NIV, ESV among them — mistranslate “nagaph” and give a very misleading impression.

Two Types of Strikes: Why Exodus 21:22 Describes a Fatal Blow to the Fetus

A study of two Hebrew words that are both translated “strike” in English shows that “napagh” and “nakah” are not synonyms. “Nagaph” always means “lethal strike” or “mortal blow.” Thus, when the pregnant woman is dealt a “nagaph,” the fetus is miscarried. Since the fetus is not assigned full human personhood, this passage is very relevant to modern discussions about abortions. Unfortunately, some English translations — KJV, NASB, NIV, ESV among them — mistranslate “nagaph,” make “napagh” a synonym for “nakah” in Exodus 21:22, and give a very misleading impression.

Why the Fetus Is Not Assigned Full Human Personhood in Exodus 21:22 - 25

A summary paper, exegetical, historical, and logical in nature. This paper restates and expands on the nine reasons given above in Session 1.

Abortion Policy and Christian Social Ethics in the United States: Scripture Addendum on Exodus 21:22 - 25

For a conversational argument against the “premature delivery” view of Exodus 21 involving the full fetal personhood view, and in favor of the “forced miscarriage” view involving fetal non-personhood, on literary and historical grounds. This includes a critique of John Piper, The Misuse of Exodus 21:22–25 by Pro-Choice Advocates. Desiring God, Feb 8, 1989. Piper’s arguments are about word use, which means that his oversight of what kind of strike is dealt to the pregnant woman is deeply problematic. Word usage alone indicates that the strike means “mortal blow,” dealt at least to the fetus.

We curate articles and other resources highlighting problems associated with the American political right adopting an anti-abortion posture on this page. For problems encountered by liberal-progressives defining human personhood at some other point, and making permissive policies on abortion, see this page.