Let me say from the start that I believe abortion is the taking of human life. In Exodus 21:22-23 the killing of the unborn resulted in capital punishment. In Psalms 139:13-14 David talks about being formed in his mother's womb and being fearfully and wonderfully made.
Paul Harvey explains how in 19th century America abortion was much more common than it is even today. Women at that time didn't believe that being pregnant was carrying a human life until the
"quickening" or until there were signs of life by the baby moving or kicking. Could the lack of scientific knowledge that we have today and the sincerely held belief that pregnancy did not produce human life until the time of "quickening" in the 19th century be at all justified? How is it different than bloodletting which was practiced for thousands of years and other medical beliefs that we now know are absurd? From what I understand from the
American Revolution to the mid-19th century pre-quickening abortion was not an issue and was legal in every state. I have tried to find what
Charles Spurgeon believed on the subject but the only thing I can find is he talks about infanticide but it doesn't say whether he believed that included pre-quickening.
Benjamin Franklin gave instructions on at-home abortions in a book in the 1700's. Once again I believe life begins at conception.