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Pro-life Christians point out that premature live birth does not mean death of the child; the phrase "yet there is no injury" suggests clearly that there is no injury done to either the child or the mother. Note also that the proscribed punishment is for ''accidentally'' causing a miscarriage; deliberately performing an abortion would be even more abhorrent to God. Furthermore, inadvertently killing a fetus (or other person) while fighting with someone else would likely constitute voluntary [[manslaughter]] under modern law, rather than murder. Of course, intentionally killing a fetus would still be murder and should be seen as a different situation.  

Pro-life Christians point out that premature live birth does not mean death of the child; the phrase "yet there is no injury" suggests clearly that there is no injury done to either the child or the mother. Note also that the proscribed punishment is for ''accidentally'' causing a miscarriage; deliberately performing an abortion would be even more abhorrent to God. Furthermore, inadvertently killing a fetus (or other person) while fighting with someone else would likely constitute voluntary [[manslaughter]] under modern law, rather than murder. Of course, intentionally killing a fetus would still be murder and should be seen as a different situation.  

In Numbers 5 the Lord appears to give a curse that causes abortions in unfaithful wives. According to this passage, the Lord instructed Moses that a husband who suspected his wife of sleeping with another man could take her to the priest for a test that would either confirm or deny his suspicions. The test involved his wife drinking a cup of "bitter water," which consisted of holy water mixed with the dust of the tabernacle floor. If the woman were innocent, then no harm would come to her by drinking it. But if she were guilty, then she would be cursed with "bitter suffering;" namely, "she will have barrenness and a miscarrying womb."  

In Numbers 5, where the Lord appears to give a curse that causes abortions in unfaithful wives. According to this passage, the Lord instructed Moses that a husband who suspected his wife of sleeping with another man could take her to the priest for a test that would either confirm or deny his suspicions. The test involved his wife drinking a cup of "bitter water," which consisted of holy water mixed with the dust of the tabernacle floor. If the woman were innocent, then no harm would come to her by drinking it. But if she were guilty, then she would be cursed with "bitter suffering;" namely, "she will have barrenness and a miscarrying womb."  

In the King James Version, verse 27 is translated as "her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot." What this means, unfortunately, is open to interpretation. However, newer translations of the Bible, which are based on improved scholarship, give less ambiguous translations. The New International Version gives "her abdomen will swell and her thigh waste away," but adds in the footnotes that an alternate translation is "she will have barrenness and a miscarrying womb." The [[liberal]] New Revised Standard Version gives "her womb shall discharge, her uterus drop ...," which seems to be an attempt by liberal translators to imply abortion.

In the King James Version, verse 27 is translated as "her belly shall swell, and her thigh shall rot." What this means, unfortunately, is open to interpretation. However, newer translations of the Bible, which are based on improved scholarship, give less ambiguous translations. The New International Version gives "her abdomen will swell and her thigh waste away," but adds in the footnotes that an alternate translation is "she will have barrenness and a miscarrying womb." The [[liberal]] New Revised Standard Version gives "her womb shall discharge, her uterus drop ...," which seems to be an attempt by liberal translators to imply abortion.