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Abortion and the Early Church: Christian, Jewish and Pagan Attitudes in the Greco-Roman World
"One of the best books I’ve ever read about abortion is Abortion and the Early Church by Michael J. Gorman. It turns out that, far from being a modern medical procedure, abortion was rampant in the ancient world. Especially in Rome. And Christians, as well as Jews, consistently opposed it, standing up for life from the very earliest days of the church. The book was out of print for awhile, so I’m delighted to see it is available again." -Gene Edward Veith
120 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1998
About the author
Michael J. Gorman
56 books90 followersMichael J. Gorman (born 1955) is an American New Testament scholar. He is the Raymond E. Brown Professor of Biblical Studies and Theology at St. Mary's Seminary and University. From 1995 to 2012 he was dean of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.
Gorman specializes especially in the letters, theology, and spirituality of the apostle Paul. He is associated with the "participationist perspective" on Paul's theology. His additional specialties are the book of Revelation, theological and missional interpretation of Scripture, the gospel of John, and early Christian ethics. Gorman was born and raised in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, graduating from Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in French from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. He received the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy cum laude in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was also a teaching fellow in New Testament and an instructor in New Testament Greek. He has also been a visiting professor at Duke Divinity School, Regent College, Carey Baptist College (New Zealand), Wesley Theological Seminary, and two theological schools in Africa. Gorman has led several study trips to Greece/Turkey/Rome and to France/Switzerland. A United Methodist, Gorman is an active layperson and a popular teacher at colleges, seminaries, churches, and conferences representing many traditions. In the mid-2010s, despite still being a Methodist, Gorman began teaching in a Roman Catholic context. His older son, Rev. Dr. Mark Gorman, is a pastor and theologian who is also on the faculty of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.
Gorman is the author of nearly twenty books and more than sixty articles on Biblical interpretation and on ethics.
Gorman specializes especially in the letters, theology, and spirituality of the apostle Paul. He is associated with the "participationist perspective" on Paul's theology. His additional specialties are the book of Revelation, theological and missional interpretation of Scripture, the gospel of John, and early Christian ethics. Gorman was born and raised in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, graduating from Glen Burnie High School in Glen Burnie, Maryland. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree summa cum laude in French from Gordon College in Wenham, Massachusetts. He received the Master of Divinity and Doctor of Philosophy cum laude in New Testament from Princeton Theological Seminary, where he was also a teaching fellow in New Testament and an instructor in New Testament Greek. He has also been a visiting professor at Duke Divinity School, Regent College, Carey Baptist College (New Zealand), Wesley Theological Seminary, and two theological schools in Africa. Gorman has led several study trips to Greece/Turkey/Rome and to France/Switzerland. A United Methodist, Gorman is an active layperson and a popular teacher at colleges, seminaries, churches, and conferences representing many traditions. In the mid-2010s, despite still being a Methodist, Gorman began teaching in a Roman Catholic context. His older son, Rev. Dr. Mark Gorman, is a pastor and theologian who is also on the faculty of St. Mary's Ecumenical Institute.
Gorman is the author of nearly twenty books and more than sixty articles on Biblical interpretation and on ethics.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
September 3, 2015
In light of the Planned Parenthood videos, I decided to read up a bit on abortion and theology. Apart of this was reading several essays in my old ethics anthologies and the chapter in Glen Stassen and David Gushee's Kingdom Ethics. All of which were excellent resources, but this little book really impressed me.
Gorman summarizes the historical context of the biblical world with regards to abortion, whether ANE, Roman or Greek, then surveys early Jewish and Christian interpretation all the way into the four century, ending his book with a summarized theology for the pro-life movement.
The book is jammed packed with research (it really accomplishes a lot for 100 pages), but here are just a few gems I noticed:
1. They had Abortions Back Then: Abortions have been practiced more or less the same way for thousands of years. I assumed abortions were a modern medical invention, but abortions by surgery or induced by drugs were very common in the first century. We moderns like to think we stumbled upon something new, but we haven't here.
2. Unilateral Concern for Mother and Child: All traditions of Judaism and Christianity were pro-life in some way. While the patriarchal Roman world was concerned with only the power and choice of the husband, who was able to force the wife to have an abortion or expose a baby at his will, the compassionate egalitarianism of early Christianity was concerned about the health of the mother and life of the unborn. Thus, even today's liberals, who look to the rights and well-being of the mother, retain the Christian influence on Western values.
3. Biblicists Beware: The only passage in Scripture to directly treat the destruction of an unborn baby is Exodus 21:22, a passage I had really not considered. It describes two men fighting and the one striking the other's pregnant wife causing the baby to "come out." While most evangelical translations of this text read "give birth prematurely" the more common sense reading - the one that all Jewish interpreters of the ancient world assumed - was that this is speaking about the death of an unborn child in euphemistic terms (most premature births would cause the death of the baby, let alone one caused by bodily trauma). In this case, the passage calls for payment for harm done to the mother, not punishment as if a murder occurred, interestingly enough. Here, oddly, the unborn baby is recognized as a baby but not enforced with the same legal status.
However Rabbi's meditated on this and felt compelled to further the need for protection of the baby. There was an active debate as to when a fetus was "human" and fully deserving of legal protection. The Alexandrian school saw this point in the first 40-80 days, after which all intentional abortions was a type of murder except where the pregnancy could cause harm to the mother; the Philistine school granted no legal status to a pre-born baby, but nevertheless say intentional abortions (unless life threatening) as violating the command to procreate.
Jewish theology then tended to see legally recognized human life beginning either at first breath (perhaps following Gen. 2's creation of Adam: "living spirit" in Hb. is synonymous with "breath") or at the point when the fetus was large enough to be recognized as human. The idea that the soul is implanted at conception, interestingly enough, does not come from Christian theology but from Plato, who tended to disregard the spiritual-material unity of human life. Concern for the fetus as a legal person at conception due to it having a soul disproportionate to its material brain activity or bodily functions does not occur until Augustine hundreds of years later, who borrows from Platonism on this matter.
4. Christians Were More Conservative Than Jews: With understanding that Christ was in the womb of Mary, the early Christians rejected the Philistine Jewish interpretation of Exodus 21, seeing personhood in the unborn. Early Christianity was unilateral on this. Thus no intentional abortion was to be permitted except in cases where harm could be done to the mother. Anything else was murder (they used no lighter term). According to St. Basil, women were often excommunicated for up to 10 years for having abortions.
5. No effort to Influence Roman Laws: The early Christians did not attempt to impose their convictions on others using state law, while they certainly did preach against what they say was the unjust killing of the unborn. Interestingly enough, Roman government, apart from any direct Christian advocacy (as there wasn't any) did ban abortions as Christianity did influence the culture. Gorman speculates that it might also have been due to concerns about population decline, but the notion that Christians succeeded in reshaping cultural values without force or legislature is likely. There is a paradigm to follow today. Indeed, separation of church and state is a good thing. Nigel Wright defines the Baptist Vision for politics is a "church free from state control and a state free from religious control," but that does not forbid Christians from presenting a voice where non-Christian law makers come to appreciate and eventually choose Christian morality out of concern for the well-being of its citizens.
6. Pro-Life due to Pacifism: A part of this, however, as Gorman notes, is because the early church was unilaterally pacifist and against the death penalty. The taking of human life or even the shedding of blood of any kind, whether an enemy, criminal or fetus, was banned. This is important for our current political climate where in the U.S. Christians are for some reason pro-life but also pro-death penalty and pro-war of all unjust sorts. You cannot have it both ways.
7. Exceptions: However, there is a consistent tradition of thinkers that nuanced this. Like their Jewish counterparts, many interpreters imputed no punishment on abortions, even intentional ones, in the first trimester as the baby was not "formed" yet (Even more conservative Saints like Tertulllian, early Augustine, Jerome, and Origen state this). Moreover, Ambrose, despite being one of the most moralistic of pastors, advocates a difference between women that abort out of worries of poverty compared to women who abort despite comfort and wealth. I personally found this point to be the most interesting aspect of the study as this would seem to offer a kind of via media between the extremes of the some pro-life and pro-choice movements. Not that I hold any hope of changing people's minds once ingrained in the current culture war.
Gorman summarizes the historical context of the biblical world with regards to abortion, whether ANE, Roman or Greek, then surveys early Jewish and Christian interpretation all the way into the four century, ending his book with a summarized theology for the pro-life movement.
The book is jammed packed with research (it really accomplishes a lot for 100 pages), but here are just a few gems I noticed:
1. They had Abortions Back Then: Abortions have been practiced more or less the same way for thousands of years. I assumed abortions were a modern medical invention, but abortions by surgery or induced by drugs were very common in the first century. We moderns like to think we stumbled upon something new, but we haven't here.
2. Unilateral Concern for Mother and Child: All traditions of Judaism and Christianity were pro-life in some way. While the patriarchal Roman world was concerned with only the power and choice of the husband, who was able to force the wife to have an abortion or expose a baby at his will, the compassionate egalitarianism of early Christianity was concerned about the health of the mother and life of the unborn. Thus, even today's liberals, who look to the rights and well-being of the mother, retain the Christian influence on Western values.
3. Biblicists Beware: The only passage in Scripture to directly treat the destruction of an unborn baby is Exodus 21:22, a passage I had really not considered. It describes two men fighting and the one striking the other's pregnant wife causing the baby to "come out." While most evangelical translations of this text read "give birth prematurely" the more common sense reading - the one that all Jewish interpreters of the ancient world assumed - was that this is speaking about the death of an unborn child in euphemistic terms (most premature births would cause the death of the baby, let alone one caused by bodily trauma). In this case, the passage calls for payment for harm done to the mother, not punishment as if a murder occurred, interestingly enough. Here, oddly, the unborn baby is recognized as a baby but not enforced with the same legal status.
However Rabbi's meditated on this and felt compelled to further the need for protection of the baby. There was an active debate as to when a fetus was "human" and fully deserving of legal protection. The Alexandrian school saw this point in the first 40-80 days, after which all intentional abortions was a type of murder except where the pregnancy could cause harm to the mother; the Philistine school granted no legal status to a pre-born baby, but nevertheless say intentional abortions (unless life threatening) as violating the command to procreate.
Jewish theology then tended to see legally recognized human life beginning either at first breath (perhaps following Gen. 2's creation of Adam: "living spirit" in Hb. is synonymous with "breath") or at the point when the fetus was large enough to be recognized as human. The idea that the soul is implanted at conception, interestingly enough, does not come from Christian theology but from Plato, who tended to disregard the spiritual-material unity of human life. Concern for the fetus as a legal person at conception due to it having a soul disproportionate to its material brain activity or bodily functions does not occur until Augustine hundreds of years later, who borrows from Platonism on this matter.
4. Christians Were More Conservative Than Jews: With understanding that Christ was in the womb of Mary, the early Christians rejected the Philistine Jewish interpretation of Exodus 21, seeing personhood in the unborn. Early Christianity was unilateral on this. Thus no intentional abortion was to be permitted except in cases where harm could be done to the mother. Anything else was murder (they used no lighter term). According to St. Basil, women were often excommunicated for up to 10 years for having abortions.
5. No effort to Influence Roman Laws: The early Christians did not attempt to impose their convictions on others using state law, while they certainly did preach against what they say was the unjust killing of the unborn. Interestingly enough, Roman government, apart from any direct Christian advocacy (as there wasn't any) did ban abortions as Christianity did influence the culture. Gorman speculates that it might also have been due to concerns about population decline, but the notion that Christians succeeded in reshaping cultural values without force or legislature is likely. There is a paradigm to follow today. Indeed, separation of church and state is a good thing. Nigel Wright defines the Baptist Vision for politics is a "church free from state control and a state free from religious control," but that does not forbid Christians from presenting a voice where non-Christian law makers come to appreciate and eventually choose Christian morality out of concern for the well-being of its citizens.
6. Pro-Life due to Pacifism: A part of this, however, as Gorman notes, is because the early church was unilaterally pacifist and against the death penalty. The taking of human life or even the shedding of blood of any kind, whether an enemy, criminal or fetus, was banned. This is important for our current political climate where in the U.S. Christians are for some reason pro-life but also pro-death penalty and pro-war of all unjust sorts. You cannot have it both ways.
7. Exceptions: However, there is a consistent tradition of thinkers that nuanced this. Like their Jewish counterparts, many interpreters imputed no punishment on abortions, even intentional ones, in the first trimester as the baby was not "formed" yet (Even more conservative Saints like Tertulllian, early Augustine, Jerome, and Origen state this). Moreover, Ambrose, despite being one of the most moralistic of pastors, advocates a difference between women that abort out of worries of poverty compared to women who abort despite comfort and wealth. I personally found this point to be the most interesting aspect of the study as this would seem to offer a kind of via media between the extremes of the some pro-life and pro-choice movements. Not that I hold any hope of changing people's minds once ingrained in the current culture war.
July 23, 2012
This was a great little book. About six chapters long, it looks first at pagan views on abortion and the unborn, then the Jewish view. The next two chapters are about the first five centuries of the Christian faith and their views. What follows is a more wide-angled lens in chapter five, in which the views of the early fathers is shown to be consistent with their broader theology against bloodshed, and covers their views of murder, service in the military, and the death penalty. The final chapter has some great insights on how to view early church traditions and some principles for how to apply them. A fine book.
May 21, 2016
A great summary of early Church, Jewish and Pagan thinking on abortion.
November 22, 2019
Research paper turned book and definitely reads like one, so a bit of a slog at times. But very informative and just what I was looking for when I picked it up. Also, the conclusion is very well done and wrapped the book up nicely.
April 4, 2017
This book is yet again an absolute disgrace to truth in history as well as in women's healthcare. Christians, including Catholics, were involved in many abortion procedures with mid-wives during the 1700-1870s, when abortion was made illegal due to corporate greed and sexism; NOT a LIFE issue.
This book is just one more example of what I always say when it comes to anti's: they have no facts to back up their claim and so they deceive, lie and give out fear tactics as well as false information on the procedure....if they even let someone to consider abortion for themselves.
No, christians and other religions have not always been anti-choice aka anti-life. All of you need to take lessons from the few moral religious people involved in abortion care, not to mention women's rights. Lying about history or finding a biased source and claiming it as truth must get tiring. I suggest if you are an intelligent person who also has a high moral, that you run from this disgrace of a book. Not only does it shun history, rewriting it as they want it to have been, but it shuns the absolutely safe and blessing more often than not, medical procedure known as abortion.
This book is just one more example of what I always say when it comes to anti's: they have no facts to back up their claim and so they deceive, lie and give out fear tactics as well as false information on the procedure....if they even let someone to consider abortion for themselves.
No, christians and other religions have not always been anti-choice aka anti-life. All of you need to take lessons from the few moral religious people involved in abortion care, not to mention women's rights. Lying about history or finding a biased source and claiming it as truth must get tiring. I suggest if you are an intelligent person who also has a high moral, that you run from this disgrace of a book. Not only does it shun history, rewriting it as they want it to have been, but it shuns the absolutely safe and blessing more often than not, medical procedure known as abortion.
May 1, 2015
This book was an absolutely amazing read. The research done was quite fantastic, and extremely eye opening. You will never look at this issue from an historical perspective the same again.
September 3, 2023
Overall, this was worthwhile. Very concise, yet a big challenge because of the amount of references to things I didn’t know much or anything about. I gained a bit of a broader picture of the historical context of the early Christian church and appreciated seeing the development of Christian theology to encompass both the idea of abortion as murder and the belief that God offers forgiveness and grace to those who commit it.
The last chapter “The Relevance of the Early Church for Today” was a massive disappointment. Rather than a helpful application, the author reveals that he is a pacifist and completes a bait and switch to convince the reader that war, the nuclear arms race (very dated), and all forms of violence should be abhorred by the Christian. He proposes an “all or nothing” stance on violence that I don’t agree with. Not at all what I came here for.
The last chapter “The Relevance of the Early Church for Today” was a massive disappointment. Rather than a helpful application, the author reveals that he is a pacifist and completes a bait and switch to convince the reader that war, the nuclear arms race (very dated), and all forms of violence should be abhorred by the Christian. He proposes an “all or nothing” stance on violence that I don’t agree with. Not at all what I came here for.
July 10, 2023
A fascinating discussion of, though a heartbreaking subject, the strongly pro-life stance taken by the early church--not only viewing abortion as murder, but also acknowledging the unborn as human beings with worth and value--in distinction to a largely pro-abortion culture. My only criticism is with the last chapter: the author is a pacifist, arguing this is the only consistent pro-life position; and being as the book is many decades outdated, the incredible pro-life movement that united and organized in the United States in the last fifty years is unacknowledged.
August 18, 2023
Although very academic, this book remains readable and gives a succinct overview of the views on abortion within and at the time of the early Christian Church. It also challenges some of the modern interpretation of this and the hypocrisy of views that forbid abortion but allow other forms of violence. A worthwhile read on these issues.
November 6, 2024
Such a great look into the early churches stances. Also strengthens my conviction on non-violence in all areas of life, which is encouraging as my denomination is strongly for non-violence. Gives a really strong mental and spiritual consistency for not just the life of the unborn, but all life
October 13, 2025
This was excellent. Very well-curated and well-written.
All those who critique Pope Leo’s statement about pro-death penalty not being pro-life should read the ending of chapter 6.
All those who critique Pope Leo’s statement about pro-death penalty not being pro-life should read the ending of chapter 6.
August 6, 2015
This is an excellent little book. It clearly shows the contrast between Christian attitudes (founded on the Jewish abhorrence of deliberate bloodshed) and pagan attitudes toward abortion, contraception, and abortifacient drugs. Christianity has been consistent from the start in the value it has placed on God's creation from conception. Questions of formed vs. unformed fetuses never took away from the understanding that the being in the womb is a gift from God from its first moment of life and must not be destroyed. A complete contrast from the pagan attitude in which the father had complete say even to infanticide.
The author concludes by showing that all Christians today, to be consistent with the constant approach and teaching of the Church, and in line with a pro-life ethic (written in 1982 he focuses very much on the threat of nuclear war), must reject abortion, capital punishment, unjust war, and the neglect of the poor and oppressed. His list of themes for developing a new ethic on behalf of the unborn is an excellent conclusion to the book.
Highly recommended as a primer on the history of abortion for anyone interested in the topic. Short enough to be devoured by an avid reader in a day or two but substantial enough to provide an adequate treatment of the subject. Worth giving to any honest, engaged relative, friend, or acquaintance regardless of his stance on abortion.
A note on this Wipf and Stock reissue. Unfortunately, the book is not set up well. Block quotes are not separated from the rest of the text and are not in a smaller font thus making everything run together. Also, the use of endnotes vs. footnotes has the reader flipping back in forth to the author's many references.
The author concludes by showing that all Christians today, to be consistent with the constant approach and teaching of the Church, and in line with a pro-life ethic (written in 1982 he focuses very much on the threat of nuclear war), must reject abortion, capital punishment, unjust war, and the neglect of the poor and oppressed. His list of themes for developing a new ethic on behalf of the unborn is an excellent conclusion to the book.
Highly recommended as a primer on the history of abortion for anyone interested in the topic. Short enough to be devoured by an avid reader in a day or two but substantial enough to provide an adequate treatment of the subject. Worth giving to any honest, engaged relative, friend, or acquaintance regardless of his stance on abortion.
A note on this Wipf and Stock reissue. Unfortunately, the book is not set up well. Block quotes are not separated from the rest of the text and are not in a smaller font thus making everything run together. Also, the use of endnotes vs. footnotes has the reader flipping back in forth to the author's many references.
February 26, 2016
This book does a good and reasonably thorough examination of the views and practice of Abortion in the world of the Early Church. It includes examination of Jewish and non-Christian writers / philosophers, as well as a comparison of Early Church writers with them. A good representation of the Early Church writers is included. However be aware that this is also a relatively short book - so should not be seen as exhaustive - though it does give good references at the end. Thus perhaps better to see it as a good start for further investigation for those who desire more.
I also appreciated the section near the end, that examined how do we use what the Early Church did and taught - and in fact included a couple of good criticisms.
The final chapter whilst still relevant does seem a bit dated reading it in 2016 - and thus may need an update. However I think this is a valuable work for all Christians to read regardless of their Pro-Choice or Pro-Life leanings.
I also appreciated the section near the end, that examined how do we use what the Early Church did and taught - and in fact included a couple of good criticisms.
The final chapter whilst still relevant does seem a bit dated reading it in 2016 - and thus may need an update. However I think this is a valuable work for all Christians to read regardless of their Pro-Choice or Pro-Life leanings.
November 13, 2011
Actually, fairly good read for a book that I used primarily for research. Has some fascinating things to say about the abortion and child exposure in paganism and in early Christianity. Gorman makes a good case and shows how history remains relevant more than ever to both politics and morality. My big complaint would be that he is a Christian pacifist. The only blemish in an otherwise fine little book.
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May 13, 2014I'm studying the history of abortion for a new project right now and found this book helpful because it gave me an historical view of the issue. You must know what the early churches taught and felt concerning this great sin that is normal in the modern day. A quick read for every pastor and pro-life out their.
January 17, 2017
Best historical treatment of abortion I've read. It traces medical ethics, philosophy, and Jewish/Christian attitudes.
May 18, 2022
Well-researched, but a definite political agenda colored my perceptions of its truthfulness.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews