Abortion, or "termination", is the act of deliberately killing an innocent human being living in the womb during pregnancy. In the words of Pope St John Paul II:

The life of a human being begins at the point of conception/fertilization, during which the separate organisms of the egg cell and the sperm cell unite, producing the fertilized zygote, and beginning the process of embryonic development. The point obviously arises that, both the sperm and the egg cell were already alive prior to their union, therefore, how can it be true that "life begins at conception". Obviously when we make this statement, we are referring to the life of the human being, which is distinct from the sperm and egg cells which preceded it, being separate organisms. Furthermore, the zygote when unimpeded by external factors, is always guaranteed to develop into an infant, in accordance with the natural process of embryonic development. Sperm cells on the other hand, are not guaranteed to develop into an infant human. Therefore, the life of the sperm and the zygote are distinct as the zygote IS a human in the process of development, whereas the sperm is its own separate organism, distinct from the human person. Additionally, the metric of life should not be measured in terms of "potential", some suggest that because all sperm cells have the "potential" to become humans, their life is equal to that of the zygote. However, the term potential, expresses a possibility of something happening, not a guarantee. Whilst all sperm cells do posses the potential to become humans, they are not guaranteed to do so, whereas zygotes are guaranteed to be (unless external factors dictate otherwise). Therefore, the point in which human life begins is to be found not in the sperm or egg, but instead at the moment of fertilization (or conception). It is true then that the infant in the womb is still a human, and purposeful attempts to "terminate" its development are in fact murder.

In the 10 Commandments, it is commanded by God that "You shall not kill". The Hebrew word used here for the word "kill", is ratsach, one of several Hebrew words used to describe killing, ratsach directly translates to "murder", this establishes a distinction between killing which is justified and killing which is not, murder always refers to unjustified killing, or the killing of innocents. Abortion being "the deliberate killing of an innocent human being", is thus considered murder as that human being is innocent and therefore justification of their death cannot be provided. The only instance which an abortion can be justifiable is in the case of an Ectopic pregnancy, where the mother is likely to die from the pregnancy, as Pope Pius XII notes:

Direct abortion, however, is not permissible, and is to be considered murder. Christians cannot under any circumstances support abortions which are unjustified, which means the majority of cases, as the vast majority of abortion cases happen for unjustifiable reasons. For example, in 2021 the UK government reported that 98% of abortions were carried out "because of a risk to the woman's mental health", according to the Lozier institute in the United States 95% of abortions occur for reasons not involving physical health. Thus, in the vast majority of cases, abortions should not have been carried out and shouldn't have been considered permissible by Christians. In regard to the Christian position on abortion, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

Accordingly, it is clear that not only is abortion seriously morally wrong, constituting an act of murder, but it should also be considered a "crime", and cooperation in abortion constitutes a "grave offense". Additionally, Christians are called on to protect life with the utmost care, from the moment of conception. However, under the law of both the United States and the United Kingdom (at the time of this articles composure), abortion is considered a legal process, and no punitive measures are implemented to prevent abortions or bring abortionists to justice. In the face of this failure of the state to oppose abortion, how exactly are Christians supposed to act?

Whilst political and social campaigning/lobbying aiming to criminalize and prevent the practise of abortion are important, and as seen by the overturning of Roe V Wade (which granted states the right to choose whether abortion should be legal) in the United States can be successful, these campaigns take time, during which thousands of children are murdered by abortionists. Given that the criminalization of abortion will take a significant amount of time to be truly successful, and in countries such as the UK, where the vast majority of the country is irreligious and supports abortion (87% of Brits in 2023 supported abortion according to YouGov), it is highly unlikely that abortion will ever be criminalized. However, Christians still have a duty to oppose abortion, and as stated by the Catechism, protect the life of the unborn with the utmost care.

Some have arrived at the conclusion, that the only immediate manner in which Christians can oppose infanticide in a society which views it as morally permissible, is through violent action. Since the 1970s in the United States, there have been at least 11 murders, 42 bombings, 196 arsons, and 491 assaults against abortion providers. No such attempts have ever been made in the United Kingdom. Most of these attacks in the US are linked to an underground anti-abortion terrorist organization known as the Army of God, which aims to "take action against babykilling abortionists". Thus, it should be considered as to whether anti-infanticide or pro-natalist violence, is morally permissible.

We see a biblical parallel of infanticide in the actions of the Canaanites during the ritual murder of their children in dedication to Moloch. Whilst modern abortion does not contain a religious dimension (with the exception of Satanists, who claim abortion as a religious right), both of these acts entail the deliberate murder of a human child. The bible obviously condemns these instances of infanticide (Lev. 18:21, Deut. 12:31, Deut. 18:10, 2 Kings 3:21, Ps. 106:37-39).

Instruction was provided by God to the Israelites in how to deal with those who committed infanticide:

We see this put into practice by King Josiah of Judah, who instituted the restoration of his nation towards God after a period of immorality, part of this included the desecration of Tophet, a site used for the ritual sacrifice of children, where he slaughtered all of the Pagan priests who resided there (2 Kings 23:10-14)

Furthermore, the bible is filled with examples of people killing others in self-defence or in defence of others, during which the killer is praised for their actions (Gen. 14:14-16, Ex. 2:11-12, Heb. 11:24-27, Acts 7:23-25, Judges 4:17-21, Judges 5:24-31, Numbers 25:7-8 and 1 Kings 18)

Thus, killing in self-defence and in defence of others is considered to be morally permissible, as long as it happens under the right circumstances, something which is expanded on by Christ in the gospels, who tells his followers to "sell your cloak and buy a sword" (Luke 22:36). Therefore, as abortion, being the murder of unborn children, can be opposed violently by Christians. Christians are morally justified in enacting violent measures to prevent infanticide from taking place, such as the murder of abortionists or those that assist in the facilitation of abortion and in destruction of property necessary to carry out abortions. This type of pro-natalist violence, must not arise from a motive for "revenge" but instead must be enacted as a preventative measure. Christians should not attack abortionists out of a desire to enact vengeance for their past crimes, but instead in order to prevent any further abortions from taking place.

It remains of course an awful and unfortunate thing, that pro-natalist violence has to be enacted, and it must be kept in mind that abortionists and those that assist them are humans, and their deaths will of course have significant impacts on their loved ones, a fact that those who engage in this violence should not be proud of. Nevertheless, in a society where legal and political opposition to abortion is near impossible, and abortionists are sanctioned and protected by the state, pro-natalist violence remains the only feasible option for Christians to protect the unborn and resist against abortion.

It is a sad state of affairs that we have come to this point where the only seemingly effective method of resistance to abortion is violence; furthermore participation in this violence requires a considerable amount of self-sacrifice, ruining the life of the individual who carries it out, therefore meaning that most Christians should not take part in pro-natalist violence due to the impacts it will have on their life. Nevertheless, those who kill abortionists or their cooperatives with the intention of preventing further abortions from being carried out, are morally justified in doing so, and it seems as though the only effective manner of opposition to abortion in society is pro-natalist violence.