The sin of pro-life movement

In the modern church, the term “pro-life” is often treated as synonymous with obedience to God. Yet when weighed against the testimony of Scripture, much of what passes for pro-life advocacy is exposed as something far different: a system that regulates, delays, and permits the shedding of innocent blood. God has never authorized His people to manage evil rather than abolish it. Where human life made in God’s image is destroyed, the Word of God demands justice—not compromise.

God’s law is not a suggestion, nor is it conditioned upon cultural acceptance or political feasibility. “You shall not murder” (Exod. 20:13) is an absolute command rooted in the holy character of God Himself. Scripture nowhere grants permission to suspend this command for strategic reasons. Partial obedience is not obedience at all. “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10).

From the earliest pages of Scripture, God establishes the sanctity of human life as a matter of covenant justice. After the flood, God declares to all mankind, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Gen. 9:6). This command is given before Israel, before Sinai, and before ceremonial law. It is grounded solely in the image of God. Any human being who bears that image is owed protection under God’s law.

Scripture In the modern church, the term “pro-life” is often treated as synonymous with obedience to God. Yet when weighed against the testimony of Scripture, much of what passes for pro-life advocacy is exposed as something far different: a system that regulates, delays, and permitsthe shedding of innocent blood. God has never authorized His people to manage evil rather than abolish it. Where human life made in God’s image is destroyed, the Word of God demands justice—not compromise.

God’s law is not a suggestion, nor is it conditioned upon cultural acceptance or political feasibility. “You shall not murder” (Exod. 20:13) is an absolute command rooted in the holy character of God Himself. Scripture nowhere grants permission to suspend this command for strategic reasons. Partial obedience is not obedience at all. “Whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it” (James 2:10).

From the earliest pages of Scripture, God establishes the sanctity of human life as a matter of covenant justice. After the flood, God declares to all mankind, “Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image” (Gen. 9:6). This command is given before Israel, before Sinai, and before ceremonial law. It is grounded solely in the image of God. Any human being who bears that image is owed protection under God’s law. affirms without ambiguity that unborn children are included in this moral reality. God says, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you” (Jer. 1:5). David confesses, “You knitted me together in my mother’s womb” (Ps. 139:13). The unborn are not potential image-bearers; they are image-bearers already. To deny them equal protection is to deny what God Himself has declared.

Yet pro-life incrementalism does precisely this. By accepting laws that prohibit some abortions while permitting others, it concedes that the intentional killing of innocent children may be lawful under certain circumstances. Scripture condemns such thinking outright. “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees” (Isa. 10:1). A law that allows murder is not neutral—it is wicked.

When Israel attempted to tolerate child sacrifice while still claiming allegiance to God, the Lord did not praise their restraint. He judged them. “They built the high places of Baal… to offer up their sons and daughters… which I did not command, nor did it enter into my mind” (Jer. 32:35). God does not accept worship mixed with bloodshed. He does not bless systems that merely reduce evil while continuing to authorize it.

God’s Word also makes clear that justice must be impartial. “You shall do no injustice in court” (Lev. 19:15). Justice that protects one class of people while abandoning another is injustice. Laws that protect children after birth but not before birth violate God’s standard. “Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD” (Prov. 20:10). Unequal protection under the law is no different.

Scripture further condemns delay and passivity in the face of mass killing. “Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter” (Prov. 24:11). This command does not permit gradualism. God immediately follows with a warning: “If you say, ‘Behold, we did not know this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it?” (Prov. 24:12). Silence, delay, and political calculation do not excuse disobedience.

In fact, God warns that delayed justice increases evil. “Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed speedily, the heart of the children of man is fully set to do evil” (Eccl. 8:11). When the law refuses to fully condemn abortion, it teaches a nation that child sacrifice is tolerable. This is not wisdom; it is rebellion.

The pattern of Scripture is clear: God’s servants do not soften His law to preserve influence. John the Baptist confronted Herod with a simple declaration—“It is not lawful for you” (Mark 6:18)—and paid with his life. The apostles declared, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29). Faithfulness has never been measured by effectiveness, popularity, or electoral success, but by obedience.

Those who preach peace while injustice continues are sharply rebuked by God. “They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace,’ when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14). Incrementalism offers a false peace—one that allows blood to continue flowing while claiming moral progress.

God’s requirement has never changed. “What does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Mic. 6:8). Mercy does not negate justice; it presupposes it. There can be no true mercy where innocent blood is legally shed.

Scripture is explicit about God’s hatred of this sin. “Hands that shed innocent blood” are among the things the Lord hates (Prov. 6:17). Nations are not exempt from this judgment. Kings and rulers are commanded to submit to God’s authority, or face His wrath (Ps. 2:10–12). Laws that authorize abortion are not morally neutral policies—they are acts of defiance against God Himself.

The choice, then, is unavoidable. God does not permit neutrality. “How long will you go limping between two opinions?” (1 Kings 18:21). To regulate murder is to approve it. To delay justice is to deny it. Abolition alone aligns with God’s Word, God’s law, and God’s covenant demands.

“Choose this day whom you will serve” (Josh. 24:15).