Yes it's based on God's law—6th commandment out of the 10. The Bible doesn't clearly say (that I'm aware of) that an embryo, foetus or baby on the verge of birth (or an infant or child for that matter) should have all the rights of an adult. But there are scriptures that imply that God has vested interest and care in people before they're born, so I'm inclined to consider human life at all stages as precious and under God's jurisdiction.
The Bible also implies that we must ultimately take responsibility for our own actions, not the actions of others, so it's not appropriate for someone to impose such decisions on another person against their will (e.g. a husband/man on a woman's decision).
The question of choosing the life of a human vs the sustenance of a family isn't limited to the abortion question. We could well consider it in the case of a family who has a child who becomes disabled through illness or accident. That's likely to have a huge impact on the life of the whole family—inconvenient, financially imposing, emotionally straining—yet we would consider it wrong to take away the child's life "for the sake of the family". That would be horrible and criminal according to society and the law. I would just say that the Bible indicates that reasoning should also extend to the life of a baby not yet born.
Incidentally, I've had the joy of hearing the heartbeat of two of my children now, from the age of 23 weeks' gestation, with my ear directly. And also feeling and seeing the kicking and turning of the baby-to-be. It really impressed on me that this was a real living human being tucked away in there, well before birth.
Yes it's based on God's law—6th commandment out of the 10. The Bible doesn't clearly say (that I'm aware of) that an embryo, foetus or baby on the verge of birth (or an infant or child for that matter) should have all the rights of an adult. But there are scriptures that imply that God has vested interest and care in people before they're born, so I'm inclined to consider human life at all stages as precious and under God's jurisdiction.
The Bible also implies that we must ultimately take responsibility for our own actions, not the actions of others, so it's not appropriate for someone to impose such decisions on another person against their will (e.g. a husband/man on a woman's decision).
The question of choosing the life of a human vs the sustenance of a family isn't limited to the abortion question. We could well consider it in the case of a family who has a child who becomes disabled through illness or accident. That's likely to have a huge impact on the life of the whole family—inconvenient, financially imposing, emotionally straining—yet we would consider it wrong to take away the child's life "for the sake of the family". That would be horrible and criminal according to society and the law. I would just say that the Bible indicates that reasoning should also extend to the life of a baby not yet born.
Incidentally, I've had the joy of hearing the heartbeat of two of my children now, from the age of 23 weeks' gestation, with my ear directly. And also feeling and seeing the kicking and turning of the baby-to-be. It really impressed on me that this was a real living human being tucked away in there, well before birth.