Does Proverbs 24:11 justify breaking the law to stop abortions?
We should “Deliver those who are drawn toward death, and hold back those stumbling to the slaughter.” Does this justify illegal attempts to “rescue” babies by blocking pregnant women’s path into legal abortion clinics?
Proverbs 24:11
ESV - 11 Rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter.
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Asked November 29 2020
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Jack Gutknecht
Supporter
For follow-up discussion and general commentary on the topic. Comments are sorted chronologically.
Danny Hickman
The scripture cited here, Prov 24:11, is not in contextual reference to a physical body being "drawn toward death or stumbling to the slaughter." It's talking about the spiritual health of the wayward person.
Jesus is the Savior of the world. How many physical persons has He ever took credit for saving from death? He was asked if He was going to restore the kingdom to Israel when He showed that He had the power over death (Acts 1:6). That's not His main concern. Think about it.. If you try and make this scripture mean that christians should go all out political and stop women from ending their pregnancy, thereby "delivering those who are drawn toward death and stumbling to the slaughter," then Jesus should have used His considerable power to deliver John the Baptist from being beheaded for preaching the truth about a pagan king. John didn't deserve to die for preaching truth.
Abortion is a political football. Its focus is not on life and death. Life and death are spiritual realities. The Bible's main theme is life and death. The main focus of politics is power. Someone will reign in every kingdom. The people who try to use theology mixed with political views to justify their political beliefs being superior to other views are usually interested in political power more than they are theological awareness.
The just live by faith, not by political victories. In the United States politics is mostly about race and ethnicity. It poisons everything, at least, a little bit.
Jack Gutknecht
Romans 13 and Submission to Authorities
Romans 13:1-7 teaches that governing authorities are established by God and should generally be obeyed.
1 Peter 2:13-17 emphasizes honoring authorities while maintaining a godly witness.
This suggests that while Christians are called to oppose evil, they should also respect legal boundaries unless obedience to man’s law would directly force them to sin.
Application
Proverbs 24:11 clearly encourages saving lives, which supports the pro-life position.
However, breaking the law—such as trespassing, vandalizing clinics, or using violence—contradicts the biblical principles of justice, peace, and love.
Legal, peaceful actions (e.g., prayer, sidewalk counseling, advocacy, supporting crisis pregnancy centers) align with both Proverbs 24:11 and Romans 13.
Conclusion
Proverbs 24:11 calls believers to take action against injustice, including abortion. However, it does not necessarily justify breaking the law, especially in ways that contradict other biblical principles. Christians are called to be wise, strategic, and Christ-like in their approach—boldly standing for life while maintaining integrity and obedience to God's broader commands.
Danny Hickman
If Proverbs 24:11 "calls believers to take action against injustice...", where were Christians during the kidnapping of Africans from their homeland thousands of miles away. No one stood on the sidewalk and prayed, or counseled, or did anything else for over two hundred years. Are people already living outside the womb less valuable to Christians than people yet unborn?
Abortion activism is mostly about political and religious posturing. That's my opinion. Some of the most God-fearing /honoring people I have known disagree with the practice of abortion, but have never done any activism against it being lawful. Many people know how ungodly the practice is; as many as who knew how ungodly it was to buy, sell and own people, including babies living outside a womb.
Yeah, when this political controversy is brought up, I'm going to compare it to how my ancestry was treated while the Church mostly went along with the oligarchs who benefitted from that ungodly practice. People got filthy rich off the free labor.
I guess that's the difference; no one is getting filthy rich off abortions. If so, maybe a civil war would have to be fought to end it...