Should Women Who Get Abortions Be Punished?

The latest kerfuffle from Donald Trump regarding whether post-abortive women should be punished is actually an excellent opportunity for pro-lifers to think through this very important issue.

First, we have to define our terms.

Human life begins at conception. All intentional destruction of this life before birth is murder. Abortion is an intentional destruction of a human life. Therefore, abortion is murder.

So, these are the facts, bare and unalterable. It seems obvious enough, so what giveth the kerfuffle?

Different pro-life groups have taken en masse to the internet, making their respective cases about why what Trump said was wonderful and logically consistent, or lacking in mercy and morally repugnant.

As is the case in most dilemmas, the answer is both-and, or “yes”.

According to the above syllogism, yes, abortion is murder. All abortions are murder. Bible supports personhood from the moment of conception (Jer. 1:5, Ps. 139:13-14) and also supports capital punishment in the Old Testament for murder (Gen. 9:6). Murderers deserve the death penalty.

So, having said that, where is the debate? Shouldn’t we all just applaud The Donald for his candor (at least before he walked it back) and race off to reform the laws of the nation?

Not so fast.

Let’s not forget the New Covenant.

For when the adulterous woman was brought to Jesus, in John 8:3-11, having been caught “in the very act”, recall that Jesus had every right to walk away, and leave her to those who would stone her. But what did he say?

 “³ Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, ⁴ they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught^[b] in adultery, in the very act. ⁵ Now Moses, in the law, commanded^[c] us that such should be stoned.^[d] But what do You say?”^[e] 6 This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.^{[f] 7} So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up^[g] and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” ⁸ And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. ⁹ Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience,^[h] went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. ¹⁰ When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her,^[i] “Woman, where are those accusers of yours?^[j] Has no one condemned you?”

¹¹ She said, “No one, Lord.”

And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.”

Jesus could have condemned her. He had the moral authority and Old Testament warrant to do so. But He didn’t.

Another passage that comes to mind is in Luke 9:51-56. The 12 disciples had just received their marching orders from Jesus, but just had an unsuccessful evangelism encounter with some Samaritans.

⁵¹ Now it came to pass, when the time had come for Him to be received up, that He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem, ⁵² and sent messengers before His face. And as they went, they entered a village of the Samaritans, to prepare for Him. ⁵³ But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?”^[e]

⁵⁵ But He turned and rebuked them,^[f] and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. ⁵⁶ For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”^[g] 

The OT allows for the death penalty for refusing to obey the decree of a priest (Dt. 17:12) and the disciples were just given similar authority. But this did not stop Jesus from rebuking them. They were of the wrong spirit, which is to say, they were being demonic. Jesus did not come to destroy lives, but to save them. Satan destroys. Jesus saves.

Which brings us to the current issue.

Of course, every abortion is a murder. But of course, the main perpetrator of the murder (the abortion provider) is the main profiteer of the procedure. Having been in pro-life work for six years, I can tell you that a significant percentage of the women that we see on site at the clinics feel as though they have no other option. There is, as in all sin, a mixture of fear, pride, and self-preservation. Anyone who has done clinic work and seen the faces of brazen women going into the clinic sees the same women, often less than an two hours later, utterly broken and ashamed, coming out of the clinic. These women have suffered enough.  

If the state needs to do anything for these women, it would be mandatory grief counseling and not jail time or the death penalty.

In the above examples, Jesus ushered in a new era where grace and mercy were to rule. The letter of the law allowed for very different outcomes, but Jesus moved beyond these external prohibitions. He let mercy rule. And in the case of the woman, so should we.

Ironically, those pro-lifers who are applauding Trump and others for insisting women receive “some sort of punishment” are often posting memes that have a post-abortive woman saying something like, “I am not a victim, I am a murderer, saved by the grace of Jesus.” 

So it is. And amen. Very true. 

However, according to the Old Testament law, these women would have all received the death penalty, and their stories of redemption would never be heard. To be consistent, they should be on death row.

Some might argue that not punishing the woman for murdering their child during abortion is logically inconsistent. Maybe it is. Good thing Jesus cares nothing about our logical consistencies, and much more about the mercy extended to the broken. After all, we have received mercy so we must therefore extend it to others. Note that in both cases above Jesus ignored the authority that the crowd had to the adulterous woman, and that the disciples had when preaching. Mercy triumphs over judgment.

Should women be punished for their abortions? I would argue that this is a case for where mercy triumphs over judgment.

Perhaps one day (Lord, hasten the day) revival will return to this land, and true justice will ring forth in our leaders and in our laws. Perhaps then, when abortion is outlawed, clinics are closed down, abortion pills outlawed, and these doctors have been run out of business that we can look again at these laws. For now, though, let’s focus on going to the clinics, reaching out with the love of Jesus and praying for the Lord to revive His church to stand for all life.

We all want justice. The babies deserve it. But in justice, let us remember mercy (Hab.

3:1-2).