Should abortion be banned?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

From the perspective of the Orthodox Christian faith, the answer is an unequivocal yes. Abortion is the intentional termination of an innocent human life, which the Church explicitly defines as murder. Consequently, civil law has a moral obligation before God to prohibit it.

1. The Theological and Biblical Reality of Life in the Womb

The Church teaches that human life begins at the very moment of conception. A conceived child is not potential life; it is a human life with potential, bearing the image and likeness of Phnouti*, God. The soul and body come into existence together at conception.

Holy Scripture leaves no doubt regarding the full humanity and personhood of the unborn:

• The Calling of the Prophets: God declared to the Prophet Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you" (Jeremiah 1:5).
• The Psalms: King David confessed, "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for You are fearfully and wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:13–14).
• The Incarnation and the Annunciation: When the Archangel Gabriel announced the Incarnation to the Holy Virgin Mary, the eternal Word of God took human flesh at that precise moment of conception. Six months prior, St. John the Baptist, while still in the womb of St. Elizabeth, leaped with joy in recognition of the presence of the unborn Lord (Luke 1:41–44). An unborn child was the very first person to bear witness to the Incarnate Christ.

2. The Unbroken Patristic Tradition

From the Apostolic age, the Church has steadfastly condemned abortion without equivocation:

• The Didache (Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, c. 1st Century) states plainly: "You shall not murder a child by abortion, nor kill that which is begotten."
• St. Basil the Great (4th Century), in his canonical epistles, wrote: "A woman who deliberately destroys a fetus is answerable for murder. And any hair-splitting distinction as to whether its form was perfected or not is inadmissible with us" (Letter 188, Canon 2).
• St. John Chrysostom condemned the practice as even worse than ordinary murder, because it deprives a child of life before they can even see the light or receive holy baptism.

3. The Purpose of Civil Law and the State

While the Church and the State have distinct jurisdictions, the fundamental, God-ordained purpose of civil government is to uphold justice, preserve social order, and defend human life against violence (Romans 13:3–4).

The prohibition of murder is not a purely sectarian or ecclesiastical regulation; it is universal natural law and the cornerstone of any just society. When a secular state legalizes abortion, it:

1. Abdicates its primary duty: A government that fails to protect the most vulnerable and defenseless members of the human family—the unborn—forfeits its moral legitimacy in the realm of justice.
2. Promotes a culture of death: Legalized abortion reduces human beings to mere disposable economic units. It is often driven by anti-Christian ideologies and globalist policies that seek population control, the dismantling of the traditional family, and the promotion of moral degradation under the guise of personal autonomy.
3. Institutionalizes the shedding of innocent blood: Scripture consistently warns nations that permitting the slaughter of the innocent invites divine judgment (Proverbs 6:16–17).

Therefore, civil authorities are morally bound to ban abortion and protect the sanctity of life from conception to natural death. The law must defend those who have no voice to defend themselves.