Today, I published my second blog as a Jewish thinker for Israel's Haaretz newspaper on the topic of abortion in Israel. Below are the first 150 words, and in 48 hours I'll re-post the whole article.
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Abortions in Israel: Is the law as liberal as they claim?
Israel’s recent health-basket reform may make abortions more affordable, but hardly more accessible. Part one of a two-part series.
By Rebecca Steinfeld / Jewish World blogger | Feb. 13, 2014 | 11:58 AM
Imagine you’re a
woman in Israel facing an unwanted pregnancy. If you’re lucky and wealthy, you
could pay for an illegal,
private, no-questions-asked abortion, setting you back between NIS 2,099-2,912
($600 and $830), depending on the stage you’re at and whether it’s a surgical
or medical termination.
If you’re less
well off, you could go the legal route. But then
you’ll have to jump through a series of bureaucratic hoops, since abortion in
Israel is only legal if you receive permission from a Pregnancy Termination
Committee (consisting of two doctors and a social worker) and fulfill one of
four criteria: you’re under-18 or over-40, pregnant as a result of criminal or
extra-marital relations, your fetus is likely to have a physical or mental
defect, or your pregnancy poses a danger to your life or could cause you
physical or mental harm. If you don’t meet the criteria, you could lie - but
this is risky.
This article was originally published by Haaretz. For the full article, click here.
