Revital Swid

Some back-alley procedures called ‘dangerous,’ undertaken by ‘nurses, dentists’; Health Ministry says it has no figures on phenomenon – ‘How are we supposed to know?’

January 3, 2017

by Marissa Newman, The Times of Israel political correspondent.

Some 15,000 illegal abortions are performed in Israel each year, many by doctors who bypass the official approval process but others by unqualified professionals who could place the lives of women in danger, activists alleged on Monday.

The issue of abortions, which are legal but require the okay of a medical termination panel — which approves nearly all cases — rarely captures headlines in Israel. But two lawmakers caused a stir this week when they convened a Knesset committee meeting Monday urging the inclusion of a religious figure on the panels, spotlighting the issue and drawing a furious response from female opposition Knesset members.

[continued at link]
Source: Times of Israel

Haaretz - Israel News
Tuesday, January 03, 2017.

Speculative move by two religious lawmakers to change the 40-year status quo regarding abortion has sparked furious backlash.

Allison Kaplan Sommer, Jan 02, 2017

Abortion may be one of the most politically charged issues in the world related to religion – but you’d never know it in Israel. While Israelis are eager to furiously debate nearly anything else involving religion and politics – from kosher standards in the army to buses on Shabbat, to women’s prayer at the Western Wall – there is near-silence on the issue of when life begins in the womb.

The status quo that is clung to so tightly has allowed invasive but relatively permissive abortion laws to remain in place nearly undisturbed for 40 years.

This week, though, in a rare occurrence, a proposal was floated that would invite religious input into abortion decisions – and the reaction was explosive.

[continued at link]
Source: Haaretz

15,000 illegal abortions performed in Israel each year, activists claim

How Abortion Became a ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ Issue in Israeli Politics