When does human life begin?

Exodus 21:22-25“Now suppose two men are fighting, and in the process they accidentally strike a pregnant woman so she gives birth prematurely. If no further injury results, the man who struck the woman must pay the amount of compensation the woman’s husband demands and the judges approve. But if there is further injury, the punishment must match the injury: a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.”

This passage describes legal penalties for harming the unborn. If a man accidentally strikes a woman causing her to give birth early, then the man must pay a fine. This fine compensates the family for the stress and trauma of the event. However, if the woman or the unborn child are injured or killed by the event, the penalty is “a life for a life, an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” Such severe penalties for harming an unborn child affirm that life begins in the womb.

Some pro-choice advocates dispute this interpretation. They consider that this passage refers to a miscarriage and say punishment only applies if the woman is injured. However, that interpretation is not as well supported by the meaning of the original Hebrew language. For instance, the author does not use the common Hebrew word for miscarriage. Instead, the author uses a word that most often describes a live birth. Second, the phrase “if there is further injury” (Exodus 21:23) is applied generally to both the woman and the child. It is not gendered to refer to the woman alone (as some translations imply).

Psalm 51:5I [David] was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

David’s famous psalm of confession indicates that sinfulness—an unmistakably human quality—is present in a person not only at birth, but even at conception. This seems to indicate the humanity of the fetus from the very beginning of pregnancy.

Luke 1:41-44At the sound of Mary’s greeting, Elizabeth’s child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, “God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. . . . When I heard your greeting, the baby in my womb jumped for joy.”

In the presence of the unborn Jesus, the unborn John the Baptist leapt for joy in his mother’s womb. This implies that an unborn child can receive and appropriately respond to communication from the Holy Spirit, showing qualities of a person made in God’s image even within the womb.

Psalm 139:13-16You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.

Jeremiah 1:5“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.”

God is present continuously during the nine months of pregnancy—forming, watching, creating, and even scheduling each day of an unborn baby’s life. Before we were born, God knew us personally and intimately, and he had already established a special purpose for each of us. The value of an unborn child is priceless because he or she is already a friend of God and created in his image.