Given how frequent, emotional, and personal abortions are, we need a God-given foundation for what we believe and why we believe it. Since many will either have an abortion, consider an abortion, or know someone who is considering/has gotten an abortion, it’s vital for us to be full of grace and truth, imitating the heart of our Father in heaven.

I want to dig deep into what I consider to be the issue regarding abortion—personhood. Personhood answers questions like, When does a person become a person? Is that a who or a what within the womb? How do we know? 

Why is that the issue? Because most people, both pro-life and pro-choice, know exactly how to treat a person. We would agree a preschooler’s life can’t be ended for the reasons people choose an abortion, even if those reasons are heartbreakingly complicated. Even if the timing was terrible, the mother was poor, the father was abusive, the parents weren’t a good fit, the genetics were abnormal, the conception was tragic, or the world was unstable, we would protect that preschooler from danger or death because that preschooler is . . . a person. In light of God’s command to “defend the oppressed” (Isaiah 1:17), we would know exactly what to do.

So when does life begin? at birth? when the parents desire a child? when a child can live outside the womb? when it looks like a baby? at conception? In the days ahead, let’s explore these five top answers to the personhood question with open minds and open Bibles.