I think abortion is one of the most controversial issues debated over by everyone in the world toady. There are many views regarding this matter but let us take a biblical view, as Bible is our measuring rod. According to Wikipedia an abortion is the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus from the uterus, resulting in or caused by its death. The spontaneous expulsion of a fetus or embryo before the 20th week of gestational age is commonly known as a miscarriage. Induced abortion is the removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus by medical, surgical, or other means at any point during human pregnancy for therapeutic or elective reasons.

What does the Bible say about abortion?

The Bible does not speak about abortion in a straight forward manner. However in the 10 commandments and in the books of law God orders us not to commit murder(Exodus 20:13). God condemns murder for murder is sin, as God created the man in his own likeness.
Also we have scriptural evidence to drawn from to prove that the Bible forbids abortion in a vague way. God said, "They mingled with the nations and adopted their customs. They worshipped their idols which became a snare to them. They sacrificed their sons and their daughter to demons. They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan and the land was desecrated by their blood." (Psalms 106:34-38).

This indicates that God does not approve killing of small children. Therefore we can conclude that abortion is murder and sin against God.

But can we call a fetus a person?

Skeptics and those who try to justify the act of abortion argue an unborn fetus is not a person and it has no life. Hence abortion can not be considered a murder. Then consider the following,

In Exodus 21:22 God gives a specific law regarding social order for the Israelites. He stated that if two men were fighting and hit a pregnant woman, thus causing her to give birth prematurely, they must be fined according to any damage done to the baby. The fine must be paid in relation to the amount of damage inflicted upon the child. If God would make a law specifically referring to the rights of the unborn, then surely the unborn must mean something to Him! (Taken from http://www.bible.com).

Further on God said to Jeremiah, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations." (Jeremiah 1:5)

God knew Jeremiah even before his mother conceived him. God knew what type of person he would be. If his mother aborted him thinking he is just a "fetal tissue", she would have aborted an actual person called Jeremiah. a mighty prophet of God and the gift of God's voice to the nations, though she would never have known.

Further evidence to support this view can be found in the following scripture verses.

- Isaiah 49:1
- Job 31:15
- Psalm 139:13-14

A scientific answer.

If we look at this from a scientific point of view the following can be said, Just 18 days after conception, the baby's heart begins to beat. At six weeks, brain waves can be measured. At eight weeks the vital organs are functioning and fingerprints have formed. At nine weeks, the unborn baby is able to feel pain. Over 700,000 abortions each year are performed after this point in the pregnancy. By the beginning of the second month, the unborn child, small as it is, has begun to look distinctly human, though the mother may not even be aware that she is pregnant! By the time the baby is eleven weeks old, he or she breaths (fluid), swallows, digests, sleeps, dreams, wakes, tastes, hears, and feels pain. Babies born prematurely can survive outside the womb as young as 20-25 weeks old. Yet, all that is necessary to make the baby a grown human being is already there from the moment of conception. All it needs is time to mature.

Former Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop stated "We now know when life begins because the test-tube baby proves that life begins with conception. What do you have in the dish? An egg and a sperm. What do you add to it to get a baby? Nothing." Though it is wee, it is still a real person, just as a crumb of bread is still real bread. No one who has been given the gift of life should dare despise the day of small beginnings. Have we forgotten so quickly that we were once as small?

"In the tiny, almost invisible thirty two cell blastocyst–in that one gram or so of tissue–there is a physical potential and moral destiny unparalleled in our universe. Next to it, a gram of plutonium is a triviality: plutonium cannot compose a symphony, cannot cure cancer, cannot plan our course to the stars". -Bernard Nathanson, M.D. and former abortionist- (Taken from http://www.bible.com).

So the above explanations prove us that life begins when God creates it.