Evangelicals and Abortion: Historical, Theological, Practical Perspectives, by J. Cameron Fraser. Wipf & Stock, 220 pages, $40.00, paperback.

Dr. Fraser was born in Zimbabwe and grew up in Scotland. He is a graduate of Edinburgh University, Westminster Theological Seminary (MDiv.), and Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (D. Min.). He was ordained as a minister of the Word in the Christian Reformed Church in 1995, served in Canada, and is now retired. As the subtitle suggests, the book has three perspectives on abortion—historical, theological, and practical. As such, it is as thorough a perspective on abortion that of which I am aware.

As a historian, a Reformed pastor, and someone who has been personally involved in the “pro-life” movement, Fraser has the heart, mind, and experience which deserve profound respect. He has dug deeply and comprehensively into the history of abortion, the biblical truths related to abortion, and the experiences of both “pro-life” and “pro-choice” politics on U.S. culture. His footnotes and bibliography are extensive and valuable to anyone desiring to study the topics further.

The book is divided into three parts. The first is a historical understanding of evangelicals and abortion. He introduces the topic by describing a conversation with a pastor who did not know “that Evangelical Christians had not always believed that human life began at conception” and that “the Evangelical position on abortion that we might like to think is an obvious reading of Scripture is less than fifty years old as of this time of writing” and that some evangelicals still believe “the biblical view is that life begins at birth” (1). According to Fraser, evangelicals in general did not believe that life begins at conception until “the Shaeffer-Koop film series and book, Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” (1). Fraser describes how he and his wife Margaret got involved in pro-life movements (Christian Action Council and Christians for Life) in the early 1980s. Some pro-life groups were aimed at changing legislation to be more just, and others emphasized mercy and love as responses to abortion. In the pro-life movement he observes that the political (justice) wing and those more concerned for the pregnant women (mercy) are sometimes at odds. The public in general has come to believe that “pro-lifers” are concerned only about the unborn and politics (3). This first part provides a brief history and definition of evangelicalism, and a historical survey of approaches to abortion from early church history to today.

Part two is primarily theological on why evangelicals should be pro-life by reviewing Exodus 21:22–25, the imago Dei, and implication for human life as created in the image of God. He believes the OPC “Report of the Committee to Study the Matter of Abortion” in 1971 was “particularly significant in regard to the interpretation of Exod (sic) 21:22–25,” and “it argues persuasively for a different interpretation of the Exodus passage than what was common at the time” (73, emphasis mine). The common evangelical view at the time was that life begins at birth. Fraser presents the exegesis of Exodus 21:22–25 in the OPC report, which demonstrated that the child in view is “not the product of a miscarriage, but . . . to the contrary . . . the child is born alive, but ahead of the anticipated time” (75). Old Testament scholars Gleason Archer and Meredith Kline also contributed to exegetical support for this correct view of life beginning before the birth of the child (76). Fraser’s presentation of the biblical exegetical reasoning used in the OPC report and other scholarly articles are a powerful refutation of the position that life begins at birth rather than conception.

Part two also includes a chapter on the imago Dei in human beings. The subject is considered by Fraser in the context of the Supreme Court of Alabama ruling that in vitro fertilization embryos are “considered to be children under state law, citing the image of God as the basis of that law” (80). Is being a member of the human race alone what determines the value and sanctity of life? Fraser writes that some (falsely) argue that species membership alone is not morally relevant (83). The discussion of who determines worth and moral value is extremely important. Fraser quotes the late Scottish theologian T. F. Torrance’s The Soul and Person of the Unborn Child favorably: “It is extremely important, in family and medical care, to give attention to the fact that the embryonic child, male or female, is . . . an incipient person” (92). Fraser addresses the question of what an embryo is if it is not attached to the mother, not viable, or when human eggs are fertilized out of the mother. There are also issues related to contraception practices. These involve, for example, the “morning-after pill,” which prevents the progress of pregnancy. This may include the prevention of implantation, which kills the early embryo (98). The ethics of embryo research and stem cell research is also discussed with extensive quotes from David VanDrunen’s book Bioethics and the Christian Life.[1] The potential use of stem cells to cure diseases has resulted in harvesting them from embryos. But the current biological facts are that embryonic stem cells are somewhat dangerous to use to treat diseases, and the umbilical cord is a better, safer, and plentiful source of medically useful stem cells (100). Recent research has taken cells from mice and mature humans and reverted them to an earlier embryonic state, which provides another source for stem cells (100). Stem cell research is now possible with no need to “destroy any embryos” (100).

Fraser also addresses the use and non-use of fetal human cells to develop vaccines. There have been vaccines developed from tissue from fetuses aborted in the 1970s and 1985 and applied to some COVID-19 vaccines, but not the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. The ethical issues of benefitting from an already aborted fetus are difficult ones. Recent Christian medical organizations are “calling researchers to develop ethical COVID-19 vaccines free of abortive cells in any stage of development” (105).

Part three gives a perspective on how U.S. society views the evangelical “pro-life” position. Fraser examines “why pro-life arguments do not always resonate with society at large as we might expect and hope for” (167). He examines the slogan “adoption, not abortion” and finds it has not been at all useful in persuading women or the culture at large to adopt it. He reviews “the backlash to the overturning of Roe v. Wade,” the appropriate response of some Christian ministries to its overturning, and why “legislative solutions alone are not the answer” (113). This may be Fraser’s most valuable contribution to how to make lasting and Christlike changes regarding abortion in the U.S. In summary, he quotes Rod Dreher favorably who “urges Christians to accept that ‘the culture war as we knew it is over. The so-called value voters—social and religious conservatives—have been defeated and are being swept to the political margins’” (120).

Pro-choice advocates have begun to redefine words and phrases to turn pro-life people into the real killers because they always neglect the babies after they’re born. . . . We even hear open claims in the media today by proabortion activists that they are the true pro-lifers! After all, they tell us, it is pro-life to favor a woman’s right to bodily autonomy, pro-life want to see women not shackled down by having to raise a child instead of pursuing an education and career, pro-life to prevent children with Down’s (sic) Syndrome from being born and having to face life with such a disability (132–33).

He points out that there is also new media attention to abortion abolitionists who reject “incremental steps toward outlawing abortion and reserve strong criticism for those who accept anything other than a federal ban equipped with criminal penalties for all involved,” including pregnant women and doctors (139). David French is quoted as writing, “Abortion can only truly end when American culture changes, not just its law” (141). There are other international examples given of how the culture in other countries is far from being pro-life.

Given the U.S. culture, Fraser writes favorably about Care Net. Care Net is an expansive network advocating for 1,200 independent, affiliated pregnancy centers across North America, as well as operating Pregnancy Decision Line to reach women and men at their point of need. Care Net works to end abortion, nor primarily through political action but by building a culture where women and men receive all the support they need to welcome their children and create their own success stories (147).

I found no weaknesses in this book. It is comprehensive, thoughtful, biblical, and pastoral.

Conclusion

It would be a rare pastor or Christian who would not benefit from reading this book. Apparently, there are still evangelicals who believe that life begins at birth. Reading this book, the OPC “Report of the Committee to Study the Matter of Abortion” (link), and Dr. Kline’s article (link) will give a pastor the exegetical help and pastoral help needed for a biblical case that life does not begin at birth and that much good can be done through Christlike compassion to women and men facing a pregnancy.

Several videos were referenced by Fraser that this reviewer found informative after watching them. Historically, the most influential were How Should We Then Live? and, especially, Whatever Happened to the Human Race? Two additional videos, The Silent Scream and Eclipse of Reason, describe details of an abortion procedure and show abortions being performed. Both have a former abortionist describing the procedures. All these videos are available and should be useful for an evangelical understanding of abortion.

Endnote

[1] David VanDrunen, Bioethics and the Christian Life: A Guide to Making Difficult Decisions (Crossway, 2009).

Stephen A. Migotsky is an Orthodox Presbyterian minister and serves as the pastor of Jaffrey Presbyterian Church in Jaffrey, New Hampshire. Ordained Servant Online, April, 2025.