[Vision2020] Religion and Sex Quiz (abortion question)

[Gier, Nicholas]

Hi Wayne,

It's not completely true that the Bible does not mention abortion.  Here is a passage from my article on abortion (www.class.uidaho.edu/ngier/abortion.htm):

Christian orthodoxy was profoundly influenced by the first Greek translation of the Torah, done by Hellenistic Jews living in Egypt in the Third Century B.C.E. This first Greek Bible, called the Septuagint and considered divinely inspired by some early church fathers, translates Exodus 21:22 in such a way as to make a clear distinction between an "unformed" fetus and one "formed." The moral implication of the verse is that the accidental destruction of an unformed fetus was punishable by a fine, but any killing of a formed fetus required "a life for a life." The Jewish Halakhic tradition has a more different view of this verse in Hebrew: "Since the punishment is monetary rather than execution, the unborn fetus is not considered a living person and feticide is not murder."

For English Common Law the "formed" fetus was one that is sensate, and kicks and quickens in the womb.  The Catholic Church allowed the abortions of unformed fetuses until 1917.

If the conservative is one who preserves traditional views, then Roe v. Wade is a conservative position on abortion.

Yours for a woman's right to choose,

Nick

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