Question:
I was reading your previous questions and answers, and I stumbled upon the one entitled “What is the proper view on abortion?” and I noticed you conveniently left out Exodus 21:22-25 where it states that abortion is alright as long as there is some sort of repayment, be it monetary or physical. Hmmmmmmmmmmmm…. It’s not right to pick and choose at your whim, and leave out pertinent information to suit your needs, seems ignorant to me, but maybe I am mistaken, in which case, I apologize.
Answer:
Exodus 21:22-25 says, “If men strive, and hurt a woman with child, so that her fruit depart from her, and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine. And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.”
The context is “If men strive…” It is MEN that are striving WITH EACH OTHER, and in their striving, a woman who is expecting gets hurt. When men are fighting, they are normally intent on watching the actions of each other, and take no thought for the safety of those who may get in their way.
If the expecting woman gets hurt bad enough so that she loses the baby, “and yet no mischief follow…,” then the men who were fighting must pay as the husband asks and the judges approve: “…and yet no mischief follow: he shall be surely punished, according as the woman’s husband will lay upon him; and he shall pay as the judges determine.”
But notice carefully: “And IF ANY MISCHIEF FOLLOW, then thou shalt give LIFE FOR LIFE, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” “If mischief follow…” means that mischief or harm is now turned toward the woman herself or her unborn child. If some men are fighting, and someone gets in their way, they may actually take a moment to strike out at the person in anger who got in their way. In other words, it was then not an accidental collision with an expecting woman, but a punch or a swing or a kick at her on purpose for getting in the way. The punishment for that was not money, but, “life for life, Eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot, Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe.” If a man strikes out at an expecting woman on purpose to inflict harm upon her or her unborn child, and the woman or the baby dies, then he is to be put to death: “life for life.”
In the case of abortion, “mischief” is always involved. The intention from the start is to harm the baby and cause its life to end. Abortion is cold-blooded murder of the most wicked sort against a little baby that cannot even defend itself. But God will defend those innocent babies in the end. Numbers 35:33 says, “So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.”