The Bible and the beginning of life

In response to the recent Your View of "Religious or not, keep minds open on abortion":

To the question that the Bible does not specifically speak out against abortion, neither does it speak to all the different ways someone could be killed, as the fifth commandment covers all ways. And, Matthew 7:12 also comes to mind: "Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." (the Golden Rule)

And, to the question about when someone becomes alive or has a soul, the writer concludes that it is when a person has breath, at birth and not conception. But, is the example given of Adam applicable? Adam (and Eve) was created outside the womb, and did not go through pregnancy like everyone else.

Even so, through science, we know that during pregnancy essential oxygen is passed to the baby through the umbilical cord. And, so, is the mother's breath that passes this oxygen, now no longer considered life-giving? And, if we really want to know what the Bible states about when life begins, why not look to the beginning of the earthly life of Jesus, the Son of God, for the best example? Which states that He became man at conception, in Mathew 1:18. "When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." Truly, Jesus, at-this-time of conception and long before His birth in Bethlehem, was alive.

Steven De Spain

Lake Zurich