All countries are founded on values, philosophies, ideologies and principles. These values and principles can have many origins. For example, some countries have based their laws on the fact that there is no god, others have considered one race superior to another, others have based it on ideologies such as communism or socialism.
THE CONSTITUTION OF ZIMBABWE
What are the foundations that Zimbabwe, we the people of Zimbabwe, have agreed to build our foundations upon?
The Constitution of Zimbabwe states in the Preamble:
“We the people of Zimbabwe, … Acknowledging the supremacy of Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies.”
Immediately following this in the Preamble of the Constitution we have basic teachings of the Bible and a plea for the guidance and support of Almighty God.
“We the people of Zimbabwe … Resolve by the tenets of this Constitution to commit ourselves to build a united, just and prosperous nation, founded on values of transparency, equality, freedom, fairness, honesty and the dignity of hard work, and, imploring the guidance and support of Almighty God, hereby make this Constitution and commit ourselves to it as the fundamental law of our beloved land.”
The Constitution containing this Christian stance was accepted by about 95% of those voting “Yes” or “No” for the Constitution. This agrees with the general population where surveys show that between 75-90% of Zimbabweans claim to be Christian. Other religions accept the Bible and its teachings and principles.
Now, guidance from Almighty God comes in following and obeying teachings and principles found in the Bible, the Word of God. If we are looking for guidance we must resolve to study the Bible and find out what the Bible has to say on different issues, and resolve to follow what Almighty God’s is revealing to us.
Unborn Children
Firstly let’s look at what the Constitution has to say about the unborn child. Section 48 “Right to life” Sub-section (3) reads:
“An Act of Parliament must protect the lives of unborn children ..”
It is common medical knowledge that a human life starts from conception. All that sperm and egg need are protection and food to survive and become a fully-fledged human outside the womb. The moment of creation of the person can be nothing other than the moment of fertilization or conception. Medical textbooks and scientific reference works consistently agree that human life begins at conception.
Fundamental Human Rights and Freedoms of Children
Section 19 of the Constitution is titled “Children”.
Some clauses are listed below:
“The State must adopt policies and measures to ensure that in matters relating to children, the best interests of the children concerned are paramount.”
“The State must adopt reasonable policies and measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to ensure that children have shelter and basic nutrition, health care and social services.”
“The State must adopt reasonable policies and measures, within the limits of the resources available to it, to ensure that children are protected from maltreatment, neglect or any form of abuse.”
All an unborn baby needs to survive is nutrition and protection. Both are covered in these clauses above.
Section 81 of the Constitution is titled “Rights of children”
Some clauses are listed below:
“Every child, that is to say every boy or girl under the age of eighteen years, has the right ..” (there is no minimum age limit showing that it is from conception onwards)
“Every child,… , has the right to equal treatment before the law, including the right to be heard.”
“A child’s best interests are paramount in every matter concerning the child.”
“Children are entitled to adequate protection by the courts, in particular by the High Court as their upper guardian.”
TEACHINGS AND PRINCIPLES FROM THE BIBLE
Since we have sought the guidance of Almighty God, we can refer to the Bible for guidance and wisdom on the matter. Regarding the unborn child, what does the Bible have to say?
Old Testament
The Hebrew word used in the Old Testament to refer to the unborn (Exodus 21:22-25) is “yeled”. This word is also used for young children or teens or young adults. The Hebrew people did not have or need a separate word for unborn children. They were just like other children, only younger. There is therefore no need to call it differently – like a “fetus” or an “almost child” or a “potential child”.
So the Bible in the Old Testament clearly considers all unborn to be human beings.
This can be substantiated further from the Bible. Job graphically describes the way God created him before he was born (Job 10:8-12). The person in the womb was not something that might become Job, but someone who was Job, just a younger version of the same man.
To Isaiah God says, “This is what the Lord says – he who made you, who formed you in the womb.” (Isaiah 44:2)
Psalm 139:13-16 paints a graphic picture of the intimate involvement of God with a preborn person. God created David’s “inmost being”, not at birth but before birth. Each person has been personally knitted together by God in the womb. All the days of his life have been planned out by God before any have come to be (Psalm 139:16)
Each person is conceived into sin. (Psalm 51:5) Who but an actual person can have a sinful nature?
When Rebekah was pregnant with Jacob and Esau, Scripture says, “The babies jostled each other within her.” (Genesis 25:22). The unborn were regarded as “babies” in the full sense of the term.
God tells Jeremiah, “I knew you in the womb” (Jeremiah 1:5). To know him must mean that Jeremiah was a person in the womb.
A proper understanding of Exodus 21:22-25 shows the reference is not to a miscarriage but to a premature birth, and that the injury referred to, which is to be compensated for like all other injuries, applies to the child as well as the mother. This in fact grants the unborn child a status in the eyes of the law equal to the mother’s.
There is no legislation in Biblical law about abortion. It was unthinkable. All that was necessary to prohibit an abortion was the command, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13). Every Israelite knew that the preborn child was indeed a child. Miscarriage was always viewed as the loss of a child, and abortion as the killing of a child.
The Old Testament clearly considers the unborn to be human beings. Man and women are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). The Bible clearly prohibits the killing of innocent people, found in the Ten Commandments – Thou shalt not kill. (Exodus 20:13)
Child sacrifice is condemned throughout Scripture. Only the most degraded societies tolerated such evil. Unlike the pagan sacrifices, with abortion, child-killing need no longer be postponed till birth. Thousands of dead babies discarded by modern abortion clinics has striking similarities as ancient dumping grounds of child sacrifices
Scripture condemns the shedding of innocent blood (Deuteronomy 19:10; Proverbs 6:17; Isaiah 1:15; Jeremiah 2;17). The Bible regards the killing of children as particularly heinous (Leviticus 18:21; 20:1-5; Deuteronomy 12:31). The prophets of Israel were outraged at the sacrifice of children by some of the Jews. They warned it would result in the devastating judgment of God on their society (Jeremiah 7:30-34; Ezekiel 16:20-21, 36-38; 20:31: Compare 2 Kings 21:2-6 and Jeremiah 15:3-4)
Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5). We must learn to see them as God sees them. God’s instruction to us is to act:
“Defend the cause of the weak and fatherless; maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” Psalm 82:3-4
“Open your mouth for the speechless, in the cause of all who are appointed to die. Open your mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy.” Proverbs 31:8-9
It is also worth noting that disobedience to the commandment “Thou shalt not kill” results in a curse upon the individual and the land (Genesis 4:8-11; Deuteronomy 28:15). God has forewarned us and we need to take heed that we flee from any curses God might place upon our land.
New Testament
In Luke 1:41, 44 there are references to the unborn John the Baptist. The word translated “baby” in these verses is the Greek word brephos. It is the same word used for the already born baby Jesus (Luke 2:12-16) and for the babies brought to Jesus to receive his blessing (Luke 18:15-17). It is also the same word used in Acts 7:19 for the newborn babies killed by Pharaoh.
To the writers of the New Testament, like the Old, whether born or unborn a baby is simply a baby.
The preborn John the Baptist responded to the presence of the preborn Jesus in his mother Mary, when Jesus was probably no more than ten days beyond conception (Luke 1:41)
The angel Gabriel told Mary that she would be “with child and give birth to a son” (Luke 1:31). She was pregnant “with child”, not that “which might become a child”
If we think about an unborn baby being equivalent to a baby or toddler, and we consider the murder of an unborn baby we need to take warning. Jesus spoke about not murdering (Matthew 19:18) and equated a murderer as being of “the devil” (John 8:44). The apostle Paul stated that those who murder will not inherit the kingdom of God. (Galatians 5:21). Those who do abort need to confess their sin, turn away from it and seek forgiveness from God. (1 John 1:9)
CONSTITUTION AND BIBLICAL TEACHINGS IDENTICAL
Both Old Testament (Hebrew language) and New Testament (Greek language) make no distinction between a baby in the womb and a baby outside the womb. This agrees with our Constitution which only describes “unborn children” with absolutely no reference to “fetus” or “almost child” or “potential child”. An unborn child has equal rights as a child who has been born.
THE LEGAL ASPECTS
Abortion, the killing of an unborn baby, is unlawful from the standpoint of our Constitution of Zimbabwe and wrong from both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. As Zimbabweans we need to abide by our Constitution and follow the commands of God so that we have a prosperous nation.
High Court Ruling
However, a High Court ruling (November 2024) by the judge, seeks to increase the scope of abortions in our beloved Zimbabwe. Parliament was given direction to amend the law, but not yet forced to act.
This ruling must be approved by the Constitutional Court to become effective. The judge said providing access to safe and legal abortion services for underage girls “is significant in light of the massive instances of teenage pregnancies in Zimbabwe, and consequently illegal teen abortions and teenage mortalities.”
While the High Court’s 2024 decision called for legal reform, Parliament has not enacted amendments to expand abortion rights.
However the Ministry of Health issued updated guidelines permitting nurses and midwives to provide first-trimester abortion care – within the bounds of current law, not a policy change from Parliament.
The current law (Termination of Pregnancy Act, 1977): Permits abortion only under strict conditions: risk to the woman’s life or health, rape/ incest, or severe fetal abnormality. (Wikipedia)
The Senate
The Senate is debating a motion to liberalise abortion services. The Senate has postponed the motion. A formal vote or bill remains to be tabled and debated further (July 2025).
The Constitutional Court
The Constitutional Court in May 2016 outlawed marriage before the age of 18. Zimbabwe’s constitution defines a child as someone below the age of 18. Any underage children who engage in consensual sexual activity with each other can now be criminalized and have unwanted criminal records.
Zimbabwe criminalized sex with any person below 18 in September 2024 following an earlier constitutional court ruling ordering parliament to raise the legal age of consent for sex to 18 from 16. The Termination of Pregnancy Act denies abortion services for girls under 18 unless provided for in the Act.
Almost one in every four girls falls pregnant between the ages of 10 and 19, according to figures by the government and UNICEF. One of every three girls is wed before 18, where girls are usually culturally forced to marry men responsible for their unplanned pregnancies.
THE CONCERN
Everyone acknowledges there is a concern. What is it?
Abortion, the killing of any human being is not godly or right. It is morally wrong. We should all be agreed with this?
The suffering of innocent children under 18 from incest, rape or an unwanted pregnancy is not healthy or godly. Should these children choose an abortion? In other instances adults may wish to abort for convenience or under pressure.
What is the answer?
Compare Stealing and Abortion
Both stealing and abortion have similar concerns. Let’s look at them.
Stealing, the taking of another person’s property or goods is theft. It is morally wrong. We should all be agreed with this?
The suffering of innocent children who are severely malnourished, half-starved to death, and totally impoverished is not good. Should these children choose to steal to obtain something to eat? Do we justify stealing on the grounds of compassion?
All sort of reasons could be put forward for stealing “from only those who are rich / have abundance” or “those who will not notice it” etc. Another reasons could be “there is a greater need with the impoverished child than being anxious about the theft, so the theft can be overlooked.” Do you start making laws pertaining to who can steal and under what circumstances? Where do you draw a line? Imagine a law that states if you are under 18 years old can steal. Or imagine a law that states that any child under 18 year old can only steal from a supermarket that is making lots of profit. Do you make stealing in certain circumstances acceptable? Are you not opening doors for greater and greater theft?
Just because children do steal out of good reason, we don’t legalise it. The solution is NOT to legalise it but to solve the inherent dilemma of a child in need.
Stealing is not right. It breaks one of the ten commandments of God. “Thou shalt not steal” (Exodus 20:15)
Also is abortion not right as it breaks one of the commandments of God. “Thou shalt not kill” (Exodus 20:13)
Do we justify abortion on the grounds of compassion? There are many reasons put forward for aborting a child. Where do we draw the line? Are we not opening doors for greater and greater abortions? The solution is NOT to legalise it but to solve the inherent dilemma of a child or adult in need.
So the problem we face is doing something morally wrong, that grieves God, and breaks His commandments. We do this in order to rectify a current problem – either stealing or abortion. When do two “wrongs” make a “right”? Stealing is wrong and a half-starved to death child is wrong. Abortion is wrong and rape or incest is wrong. Is the answer to a half-starved to death child to steal? Is the answer to incest or rape to abort?
I am the first to acknowledge that sometimes things go wrong e.g with stealing the owner might, by mistake, “undercharge” something bought. There was no intention to steal but the result was goods were bought at a cheaper price. Likewise with pregnancy, when the embryo implants outside the uterus, most commonly in a fallopian tube (known as an ectopic pregnancy, where it cannot develop into a normal pregnancy). An ectopic pregnancy is dangerous and potentially life-threatening to the mother if not treated promptly. This calls for the removal of the embryo. In this instance there was no intention to abort the unborn baby but things have gone wrong and in order to save the life of the mother the unborn child is removed.
Society’s involvement
Society has generally accepted that stealing is wrong. Any god-fearing society will generally accept that abortion is wrong. Both should be unlawful. Whoever thought killing an innocent unborn child for the wrong of its mother / father or both parents was legal and lawful. Punishing someone else for your own or someone else’s wrong doing! It’s as good as punishing the shop owner for letting the child steal your goods. Ridiculous!
Is it a society problem? How do we deal with those wanting to steal? Teach them it is wrong and correct and penalize the thief.
What about abortion? It is morally wrong? How does society prevent it? Teach them it is wrong and perhaps encouraging self-disciple and self-control? Do you severely punish those committing rape or incest? Should not all those who have been raped be counseled as well as those finding themselves with an unwanted pregnancy? Along what lines? Is adoption a readily available option for the new life developing in the womb of its mother?
BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES
As we have seen previously our Constitution acknowledges the supremacy of Almighty God, in whose hands our future lies, and we implore the guidance and support of Almighty God. I contend that our Zimbabwean constitution seeks to base the foundational values of our beloved nation on biblical principles.
There are many reasons “Why” the Constitution veers towards biblical principles.
Firstly it is the foundation for greatest unity in the country, with a huge majority of citizens accepting the Bible as from Almighty God and trusting in its contents. Biblical principles also provide an active and positive strategy to gaining answers by finding and discovering God’s laws, teachings and principles on different matters. Biblical principles provide goal clarity and are consistent (do not change over time) and they provide good morals. As a result of adopting Biblical principles we can expect Almighty God’s blessing on the land and prosperity and well-being for all citizens.
For more information on “abortion” or “adoption of biblical principles” please visit :
https://kingdombiblicalnetwork.com
SUMMARY
- The Zimbabwe Constitution acknowledges the supremacy of Almighty God and advocates for His guidance and support.
- The Constitution states we must protect the lives of unborn children.
- In addition all children should be provided with, amongst other things, basic nutrition, protection and the right to equal treatment before the courts.
- The Bible is God’s instruction book when we seek His guidance and support.
- Biblical teachings and principles from both the Old and New Testaments support the full protection of unborn children from conception onwards.
- Present High Court rulings and Senate debate conflict with both the Constitution and biblical teachings and principles.
- Biblical teachings should be our guiding principles for our Zimbabwean society for unity, singleness of purpose and excellent morals.