As Christians continue to be involved in the debate over abortion and abortion laws, one of the most prominent parts of the discussion is the prosecution of women seeking abortion if the act is criminalized. The most common debate centers on whether women should be considered either victims or perpetrators. One side argues that if they are victims of society, pushed into abortion unwillingly, criminalization could wrongfully punish them. However, the other side states that if they are willing perpetrators of infant murder in the womb, they should be held criminally liable. It is a much-needed discussion that has been and should continue to be addressed. Yet, there is one other argument that often does come up when it comes to criminalization: what happens to women who have previously committed abortion if and when the act is criminalized? Can or should they be held accountable as well?

The matter centers on the question of if a law, once passed, can have a retroactive effect on society. This is called an ex post facto (“from a thing done afterward”) law. It aims to apply punishment retroactively to persons who committed certain acts that were not illegal before the inception of the law. Concerning abortion, there have been both pro-life and pro-abortion parties that have made claims that the criminalization of abortion should or will affect women who have committed the act in the past. On the pro-abortion side, they have argued that if abortion were made a crime, millions of women would face retroactive prosecutions for murder, a scare tactic meant to derail criminalization. On the pro-life side, many Christians have argued criminalization should require retroactive prosecutions because these women have committed murder and need to be held accountable. While this is not the common belief among the majority of Christian abolitionists, the argument does rise and needs to be addressed.

Christians must first understand that the governing document that founded our nation and its criminal justice system, the Constitution, expressly forbids the creation of ex post facto laws. Article I, Section 9, Clause 3 states, “No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.” The Founders understood that the creation of such laws would destroy any possibility of a just society. When they established our system of government, one of its foundational principles was every man and woman facing a criminal allegation was presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. In establishing this necessary principle, they protected the freedom and liberty of every citizen in the nation from corrupt ruling elites who abuse their power to imprison the people merely on allegation alone. Therefore, we must understand that ex post facto laws erode that essential foundation.

When a citizen goes about his or her life each day, living in compliance with existing laws, they can have reasonable certainty that tomorrow, whatever they did today will not be used against them in trumped-up criminal charges. And, if they did face such charges, the criminal justice system, flawed though it may be, offers them protections against illegal acts that would attempt to convict them under false charges. However, ex post facto laws eradicate any confidence in those protections. If you live following existing laws today but tomorrow those laws change and you can be charged with what was previously legal, you can never hope to be innocent until proven guilty. With every new law passed, every citizen faces certain fear that those laws will one day criminalize what they did weeks, months, or even years prior. Every citizen will one day likely face prosecution for simply doing what the law previously allowed. The concept of justice in this life will be destroyed.

With regard to abortion, some may argue that abortion is murder, so criminalizing the act would only be enforcing what the law already prohibits. However, this is a faulty understanding of how laws work. Every criminal law requires certain elements to be met in order for a person to be charged. For example, robbery is often defined as theft by force or threat of force. To be charged with the crime, a person must use physical force or threaten physical force while stealing from another. If, however, the person discreetly picked a pocket of the victim without ever attempting to hurt or intimidate the victim, robbery cannot be charged and the law must apply another criminal offense. In the case of abortion, many states throughout the country do not include the wanton killing of a child in the womb via abortion as an element of any form of murder. The irony of the fact that many states will prosecute suspects who kill a pregnant mother for both the murder of the woman and the child is not lost here. However, those are killings that do not come specifically from legalized abortions. Therefore, in order to make it possible to criminalize the act, states must either create a new law or update existing law to include abortion as an element of the crime to make it a prosecutable offense. And, once that has been done, the laws can only be enforced from the date they take effect.

While many Christians may find this explanation unsatisfying and see it as a dodge by hiding behind legal mumbo jumbo, it is entirely biblical. It is God who tells us that the legal protection of “innocent until proven guilty” comes from himself. For example, Deuteronomy 19:15 states, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime or for any wrong in connection with any offense that he has committed. Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.” This made it impossible for a single witness to make an allegation against another person that resulted in punishment. There had to be a corroborating witness to have a finding of guilt under God’s law. Furthermore, Romans 13:1-7 demonstrates that God limits the powers of government to the defense of its people and the punishment of evildoers. God expects governments to rule justly and will hold accountable those who do not. The creation of ex post facto laws would enable the government to misuse and abuse the people under their charge, violating God’s own protection of His people which presumes their innocence until proven guilty.

The question then to be asked is, if abortion is successfully criminalized, how should Christians deal with those persons who have committed this atrocity prior to the laws taking effect? In the same way, we have always had to address such guilty parties, by entrusting them to God’s judgment. Romans 12:19 tells us, “Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’” While this passage addresses how Christians should love their enemies, it is a stark reminder that no person’s sins will ever escape God’s sight. Every single person who has committed the atrocity of abortion is known under the all-seeing eyes of God. Just like any other murderer, rapist, or thief who has escaped earthly justice because they were never caught or released on a technicality, those who murder children in the womb will face the certain and just wrath of an almighty God. Our faith is not in our ability to retroactively obtain our “pound of flesh” against wicked murderers, it is in our God alone who will by no means let the guilty go free. Therefore, Christians should fight for the protection of unborn babies by seeking to criminalize the barbaric act of abortion and holding accountable those who commit the crime once the law is passed. And they must entrust justice to be upheld by our good and just God againt those who “got a pass” because existing law let them “get away with it” for now.

Note: This article was also published at X.com.