The news this week that a record number of British women are now using an abortion pill to terminate their pregnancy at home, should ring very large alarm bells for anyone committed to questions of justice and compassion.

In the Judeo-Christian worldview as it is held by the majority of practicing Christians worldwide, a human being is seen as an individual from the very time of conception. This view is based but on a series of absolutes outlined in scripture.

These are much more than arbitrary rules designed by some ancient priestly elite to limit personal freedoms. Absolutes are universal laws, descriptions of how things always are, no matter who's in power, or what is the fashion of the day.

Is it ever right to murder someone in cold blood? No. Is it ever right to steal someone else's property? No. Oh, you can come up with all the fancy-sounding rationalisations you like to avoid absolutes, but at some point in your life you'll want to fall back on them! (If someone's about to murder you, you're not going to be saying, 'Sure, murder's OK; go for it if it turns you on!')

Moral absolutes are 'absolute' - unchanging and all-encompassing - because they're based on the greatest Absolute of all, the moral character of an unchanging God. To understand these divine mandates in their proper context, one must appreciate the divine nature which they're designed to reflect - and to help us emulate.

All of God's creation reflects His nature. To live in a way which is inconsistent with God's character, to deny the absolutes in His universe, is to work against the very fabric which holds the whole thing together.

According to the Judeo-Christian scriptures there are at least two fundamental things we can say about the nature of our Maker which directly impact the discussion of abortion.

The first thing we need to know about God is that He is just. He's scrupulously fair in everything He does.

Actually, it's true to say that God doesn't just act justly, He is justice itself. What we call justice is simply a reflection of God's character. And He has built that 'justice-factor' into His natural creation.

You will always reap what you sow - if you put apple seeds in the ground you'll get an apple tree. If you lie your way through a relationship, your lies will someday, some way, work against you. You can't escape it what goes around comes around.

The Judaeo-Christian concept of justice is based on the legal and prophetic writings of the Old Testament. It has stood societies in great stead for millennia. One of the very foundations of that justice system is the idea that the poor, the weak and the unprotected should be given a 'fair go' in law.

With that in mind, God's justice should be a part of any discussion about abortion. As scripture notes, the unborn are human beings in God's eyes. If that's true, and God demands that we take special care of the defenceless, what can we say except that those who end these young lives for no good reason will answer for their injustice?

The other characteristic of God's nature which we need to consider here is His love. God doesn't just feel love, or even decide to love, He is love.

What is it that distinguishes the Ten Commandments from other religious lists of dos and don'ts? The love of God.

Jesus despised the way some religious authorities imposed laws without compassion. The Pharisees of his day, a class of hyper-religious nit-pickers, knew what the law of God said, but their application of it always lacked compassion and mercy.