“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart…”(Jeremiah 1:5, NIV)
God is the Creator of life and the Lord of our souls. Human life begins at the moment of conception in the womb. Abortion, commonly known as the artificial termination of pregnancy, is defined as the deliberate act of ending the life of a fetus before natural birth by removing it from the mother’s womb. In the past, such procedures were widely regarded as dangerous and unethical, and were therefore prohibited by law in nearly every nation.
Korea also prohibited abortion under its criminal code (Articles 269 and 270). Yet it remained a source of controversy, not only concerning the protection of maternal health but also in the realm of human rights. In April 2019, the Constitutional Court ruled that criminalizing abortion violated a woman’s right to self-determination and declared it unconstitutional. As a result, the provisions were repealed. However, because neither the Criminal Act nor the Mother and Child Health Act has been revised, abortion laws remain suspended without replacement legislation. The greater problem is that, while affirming the woman’s right to choose in the name of human rights, the Court failed to uphold the right to life of the unborn child.
From the moment of conception, the fetus is a distinct human being, bearing the image of God. By the 23rd day after fertilization, the heart is formed and begins to beat. Around day 45, the brain develops and brainwaves can be detected. By about 12 weeks, the fetus already has a complete human form: all body parts are present, nails and fingerprints are formed, and the sex is clearly identifiable. To end such a life through abortion is undeniably an act of murder.
Nevertheless, abortion continues to be performed easily and openly. According to the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, 19.9% of women with pregnancy experience reported having had an abortion. Based on this, the estimated number of abortions in 2017 was about 50,703. However, the Korean Association of Obstetricians and Gynecologists estimated the actual number to be far higher—around 3,000 abortions per day, totaling nearly 1 million annually.
Globally, abortion has ranked as the leading cause of death for two consecutive years. In 2021, approximately 42.6 million abortions were recorded worldwide, more than three times the 13 million deaths caused by infectious diseases, the second leading cause. In 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued new “Abortion Care Guidelines,” urging countries to fully decriminalize abortion and describing it as “life-saving care.” In response, the Christian Post observed, “The WHO’s guidelines reflect a movement to establish abortion as an international human right.”
Herb McCarthy, director of the U.S.-based pro-life organization Save the Storks, explained, “When a person is declared dead medically, it means their heart has stopped. Since a fetus develops a beating heart at 5 to 6 weeks, we must recognize that it is alive.” He further stressed, “Abortion is ultimately a spiritual issue. The Church must boldly proclaim why abortion is sin and murder, and actively defend the value of life.”
To accept abortion is to disregard the sanctity of life. Scripture teaches that physical union between a man and a woman is a gift of God, to be honored within the covenant of marriage. Therefore, Christians must first live in reverence and holy fear of God’s law.
》Prayer Points
1. God is the Creator of life and the Lord of all people. Let us pray that in this generation, we will not follow the world’s trend of treating abortion lightly for the sake of convenience, but instead be guided by the truth He has revealed. Let us also pray that beyond honoring the sanctity of life, our hearts may be restored to a deep reverence for God Himself.
》Scripture Prayer
Psalm 8:1–9 (NIV) 1 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens. 2 Through the praise of children and infants you have established a stronghold against your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them? 5 You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor. 6 You made them rulers over the works of your hands; you put everything under their feet: 7 all flocks and herds, and the animals of the wild, 8 the birds in the sky, and the fish in the sea, all that swim the paths of the seas. 9 LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!
Ephesians 1:3–7 (NIV) 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
》Pray that the Word may become the Conclusion.
1. Human life begins at the moment of conception in the womb. Yet even before that, each life was already in the heart of God. Therefore, every human soul is infinitely precious and glorious in Him. Let us pray that, regardless of the scientific or legal standards by which nations or societies may permit abortion, people would acknowledge before God, the Author of life, that it is sin and murder, and turn to Him in repentance.
2. Many nations are shifting their policies to allow abortion, either fully or in part. Let us pray that abortion, which rejects the life of the unborn and stands in rebellion against the truth of God’s Word, would cease. Let us ask God to restrain laws and systems that legalize it for the pursuit of human desire without guilt of conscience.
3. Let us pray that the Church throughout the world will declare to society that abortion is the killing of a life created by God, and stand against it in prayer. May all believers be taught God’s Word, so that they may love and protect every child given in the womb as a glorious and precious son or daughter who has already received the blessing of heaven in Christ Jesus.
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