Israel makes abortion easier
Israel makes abortion easier
06/28/2022
The Knesset Welfare Commission has approved new rules for abortion in Israel. An explanatory note on the Knesset website said the new rules "expand women's freedom of choice, making the process easier and simpler." The need for amendments, according to Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, is due to the fact that the outdated rules were "humiliating, chauvinistic, aimed at encouraging women not to have an abortion."
Under Israeli law, women do not have an automatic right to an abortion. They must request permission from the special abortion committee. Despite the fact that the commission approves most of the requests, the women complained about the "excessive aggressiveness" of the questions and admitted that they had to lie to get permission. In addition, there are only 38 committees in the country that consider these applications - it is difficult to get from remote areas, the queue is long.
The current rules were adopted back in 1988, when the Ministry of Health - as part of the work to increase the birth rate - did everything to prevent abortions.
Under the new rules, women seeking an abortion will not have to meet with members of the abortion committee in person. Personal presence is not required when submitting the relevant application - all documents can be filled out electronically. The request form itself will also be updated, from which “degrading questions” will be removed. In addition, medical termination of pregnancy in clinics will also become possible.
The new rules will come into effect in three months. It should be noted that the amendments were adopted a few days after the resonant decision of the US Supreme Court, which abolished the previously guaranteed right of women to have an abortion. Now each state can impose serious restrictions on the procedure and even completely prohibit it.
“The right of a woman to her body is obvious, any decision must be made in the light of this obvious rule. The verdict of the US Supreme Court returns the lives of women 100 years ago, ”Nitzan Horowitz commented on the change in American legislation.
According to the Israeli Ministry of Health, there were 17,548 abortion requests in the country last year. Over 99 percent of them approved.