After Abortion or Miscarriage

[Sanpitch]

I'm curious about the beliefs or church statements of what happens to the fetus of an abortion or miscarriage.  The baby doesn't survive to live on Earth which is the whole purpose of being born so what happens to the spirit if there is one?  Is the spirit then directed to another mother or just never exists?  Anyone have a answer to that?

[Traela]

For miscarriage, the answer seems to be very individual, and possibly based on the age of the fetus.  My sister-in-law very strongly felt that her last pregnancy was a child that is another member of her family.  My niece has no such feelings about her numerous, very early miscarriages.

 

[JLHPROF]

I don't think there is an official doctrine.  But there used to be a belief that a child that doesn't get to be born into this world will be sent again.

Not sure I remember the source.  I think it might have been quoted in an early version of Crowther's Life Everlasting.

[bluebell]

As far as I know nothing has been revealed.  I think that it's obvious that the spirits go on to be assigned to a different body (if a spirit had even been assigned to the body at all yet), which may or may not be a different mother and family all together.  I think it's obvious because one of the core teachings of the church is that someone can not be shorted blessings they are worth of because of something they have no control over.

I think the sin of abortion isn't necessarily the harm it does to the spirit who would have been born (though that could certain be part of it) but the interference in the powers of creation and the usurping of God's authority over both life and death.  The most serious sins in our theology are those where the person has assumed authority over birth and/or death that they have not been granted.

Edited March 8, 2019 by bluebell

[longview]

From http://www.lightplanet.com/family/children/spirit_womb.html

When Does the Spirit Enter the Womb?

by W. John Walsh

While the Church has never issued an official declaration on this subject, President Joseph Fielding Smith taught:

"The time of quickening is when the mother feels the life of her unborn infant. President Brigham Young has left us this explanation of the time when the spirit enters the body: 'When the spirit leaves them [mortal bodies] they are lifeless; and when the mother feels life come to her infant, it is the spirit entering the body preparatory to the immortal existence. But suppose an accident occurs and the spirit has to leave this body prematurely, what then? All that the physician says is—'It is a still birth,' and that is all they know about it; but whether the spirit remains in the body [i.e, in its own body] a minute, an hour, a day, a year, or lives there until the body has reached a good old age, it is certain that the time will come when they will be separated, and the body will return to mother earth, there to sleep upon that mother's bosom. That is all there is about death.'  On other occasions, also, President Young taught that we should have hope for the resurrection of stillborn children. 'They are all right,' he said, and nothing in the way of sealings or ordinances need be done for them." (Doctrines of Salvation, Vol.2, p.280)

[See also Will a Miscarried Child Be Resurrected?; Stillborn Children; Teachings About Premortal Life home page; Premortal Salvation of the Dead; Basic Beliefs home page; Teachings About the Family home page; Teachings About Children home page.]

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More interesting perspectives in https://100hourboard.org/questions/71628/

Q: Dear 100 Hour Board,

Is there any church doctrine about, when unborn children die (miscarriage or abortion), if there's a spirit connected to that body or not? I'm not trying to say abortion is ok or anything. I'm just wondering if, when someone has a miscarriage, if they actually have another kid who just wasn't born, or if it was just a body that didn't work out, and isn't someone's? Sorry if I'm not very clear.

-The Questioness

A:

Dear Lioness,

There is no official doctrine on when the spirit enters the body.

There are, however, multiple ecclesiastical perspectives, as explained in this Ensign article, which I quote below:

When does the spirit enter the body? On this second question some Church leaders have made comments. President Brigham Young said he believed that “when the mother feels life come to her infant it is the spirit entering the body.” (Journal of Discourses, 17:143.)

The message “The Origin of Man” issued by the First Presidency in 1909 stated: “The body of man enters upon its career as a tiny germ embryo, which becomes an infant, quickened at a certain stage by the spirit whose tabernacle it is, and the child, after being born, develops into a man.” (James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus  Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1970, 4:205.)

Elder Bruce R. McConkie, referring to “The Origin of Man,” expressed his opinion that the message “appears to bear out the concept that the eternal spirit enters the body prior to a normal birth, and therefore that stillborn children will be resurrected.” (Mormon Doctrine, 2d ed., Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1966, p. 768.)

It is not clear exactly at what point of development that “certain stage” of quickening—when the spirit makes eternal claim to the body—occurs. Even though quickening occurs before birth, we still do not know definitely when a living soul comes into existence.

I hope that's helpful.

–Concealocanth

[The Nehor]

If a Spirit does take up residence it is likely they will be resurrected and raised in the Millenium like all who die before the age of accountability. If their parents are faithful it seems logical they will be resurrected and raise them.

[cherryTreez]

I think there are many variables.  My daughter was stillborn. I know in my soul that she is mine. I won't go into details, But I know that she is mine like my living kids are. 

I have friends who say the baby they lost was their next baby. I think it depends on when and why the lose happens. 

[Jane_Doe]

3 hours ago, Sanpitch said:

I'm curious about the beliefs or church statements of what happens to the fetus of an abortion or miscarriage.  The baby doesn't survive to live on Earth which is the whole purpose of being born so what happens to the spirit if there is one?  Is the spirit then directed to another mother or just never exists?  Anyone have a answer to that?

I looked into this extensively after my miscarriages.  In short, there's no official statement at all.  There are a few speculations in the late 1800's/early 1900's, but nothing remotely official/authoritative.  It's something a grieving parent should seek counsel/comfort directly with the Father about individually for individual situations.  

[Kevin Christensen]

At home on my shelf of NDE books is one "Coming from the Light", about mothers to be having spiritual communications with children before their birth.  (The author is LDS.) One story has a teenage girl in the process of deciding whether to give up for adoption or abort.  One night her daughter came and said, "Mom, you've got to decide what you are going to do, because I am supposed to get to a particular family, and if you aren't going to have me, I need to make other arrangements."

By the way, the author went to IANDS at one point and asked if they had any stories like that in their archives.  The initial answer was, no, we've never heard of anything like that. Until they looked, and found that they had numerous accounts.  They just didn't have a theological place for pre-existence accounts, so, they didn't register in their minds.

FWIW,

Kevin Christensen

Canonsburgh

[JAHS]

According to the Church Handbook of Instructions, "It is a fact that a child has life before birth. However, there is no direct revelation on when the spirit enters the body."
According to Russell M. Nelson:
"It is not a question of when “meaningful life” begins or when the spirit “quickens” the body. In the biological sciences, it is known that life begins when two germ cells unite to become one cell, bringing together twenty-three chromosomes from both the father and from the mother. These chromosomes contain thousands of genes. In a marvelous process involving a combination of genetic coding by which all the basic human characteristics of the unborn person are established, a new DNA complex is formed. A continuum of growth results in a new human being. The onset of life is not a debatable issue, but a fact of science." (Russell M. Nelson, “Reverence for Life,” Ensign, May 1985, 11)
So according to Elder Nelson and biology, life begins at conception; but that still does not tell us when the spirit enters the body and that has not been revealed to us yet.

One can argue that the spirit probably does not enter a fertilized developing embryo until it has at least implanted itself in the mothers womb. It is not uncommon for an embryo to fail to implant itself, so it would therefore be illogical for the spirit to have already united with it before that happens. Also, during the time between conception and implantation, embryos can not yet be considered as individualized human life, since they still possess the potential to combine, or split. It is also possible to store embryos in a frozen state, thaw them out later, and successfully implant them in a mother's womb. Has the spirit already entered an embryo that is being stored in a freezer at -70 C? I doubt it.
There are mostly anecdotal opinions from various individuals as to when they feel they knew when the spirit had entered the body and it may indeed happen at different times depending on the individual and circumstances.

[strappinglad]

IIRC , when doing work for the dead, miscarriages are recorded but not sealed as part of the family.