From the Didache:
2. "Thou shalt do no murder; thou shalt not commit adultery"; thou shalt not commit sodomy; thou shalt not commit fornication; thou shalt not steal; thou shalt not use magic; thou shalt not use philtres; thou shalt not procure abortion, nor commit infanticide; "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods";
I know - yet we get a plethora of verses saying the opposite which confuses things:
Psalm 137:9
Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
1 Samuel 15:3
Do not spare them, but kill both man and woman, child and infant, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.
Exodus 12:29-30
At midnight the Lord struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt
Hosea 13:16
they shall fall by the sword; their little ones shall be dashed in pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open
Joshua 6:20-21
Then they devoted all in the city to destruction, both men and women, young and old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys, with the edge of the sword
2 Kings 19:35
And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians. And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies.
Numbers 31:17-18
Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him. But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.
Jeremiah 19:9
I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and their daughters, and everyone shall eat the flesh of his neighbor in the siege and in the distress, with which their enemies and those who seek their life afflict them
Leviticus 26:22
I will let loose the wild beasts against you, which shall bereave you of your children
Isaiah 13:16
Their infants will be dashed in pieces before their eyes; their houses will be plundered and their wives ravished.
I could go one but you get the picture.
I have heard from many people who attempt to justify the slaughter of children upon Gods command but it has always been for me a very unsettling and disturbing justification. For example, Ive heard many times the justification of the ripping open of pregnant women, who were 'enemies of the people of Israel' because God favoured the Israelites. That makes me feel very unsettled
In my mind, it diminishes the Christian stance on abortion.
For me, I choose to take a Kantian ethical view - That is, killing anyone (whether alive or in utero) is only justified in the defence of self or others. Thus, in terms of a mother undergoing an abortion, is justified where she is protecting her own life. As a society our efforts should support the choice to have the child or adopt........ How many on this site have heaped scorn on single unwed mothers getting social support....... We want them to keep the child then rubbish them for needing help!!!
I also have to take a deep breath and acknowledge that its OK for me to say that, because I am safe in my armchair in a secure country. How would I feel, pregnant and unwed if I lived in Pakistan. I would be executed by the state or my own family.... along with the fetus and the man who got me pregnant.
I choose not to stand in judgement of people faced with intolerable circumstances and refuse to throw the first stone.