Abortion in Israel
Encyclopedia
Abortion in Israel is legal under certain circumstances, subject to the approval of a committee for pregnancy termination.
limit the circumstances when an abortion
is legal in Israel
. Abortions can only be performed in Israel by licenced gynecologists in recognized medical facilities that are specifically and publicly recognized as a provider of abortions. Abortions must be approved by the termination committee.
In practice, most requests for abortion are granted, and leniency is shown especially under the clause for emotional or psychological damage to the pregnant woman. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
report from 2004, 19,500 legal abortions were performed in Israel in 2003, while 200 requests for abortion were denied. Most abortions were authorized because the woman was unmarried (42%), because of illegal circumstances (11%), health risks to the woman (about 20%), age of the woman (11%) and fetal birth defects (about 17%).
parties (see Shas
, United Torah Judaism
and National Religious Party
).
This clause is still under debate in Israel. In 2004, MK
Reshef Chen of Shinui
submitted an addendum to reinstate the clause, arguing that under present circumstances, women with financial problems must lie to the termination committee to obtain approval under the emotional or psychological damage clause, and that "no advanced country forces its citizens to lie in order to preserve religious
, chauvinistic, patronizing archaic values." Women's organizations such as Naamat voiced their agreement with the proposal.
Zehava Gal-On of Meretz proposed a bill that would eliminate the termination committee, effectively decriminalizing
unrestricted abortion. Gal-On argued that women with financial means can have abortions in private clinic
s, bypassing the committee and therefore gaining rights based on their wealth. The bill was rejected by a wide margin. It has been proposed again in 2007, and deliberations in the Knesset
are still pending.
s, one an expert on obstetrics and gynaecology
, and the other one either OB/GYN, internal medicine
, psychiatry
, family medicine
or public health
. The third member of the committee must be a social work
er.
contains no direct references to pregnancy termination, only to miscarriage
following violent altercation.
The Mishnah
reference in Oholot
7, 7 has been open to debate. Although the verse does not refer directly to abortion, it does refer to a case of life-threatening childbirth
and, if the birth is partial or the head has not yet emerged, the fetus can be killed to save the life of the woman (see pikuach nefesh
).
Maimonides
codified in the Mishneh Torah that the definition of murder according to the Noahide Laws
includes a person who kills "even one unborn in the womb of its mother," and adds that such a person is liable for the death penalty.
The killing of an embryo is also recognized as murder in the Talmud
Sanhedrin 57b:
"A heathen is executed..for the murder of an embryo..Because it is written, Whoso sheddeth the blood of man within [another] man, shall his blood be shed. What is a man within another man? An embryo in his mother's womb."
Another explicit reference to abortion is in the Zohar
, where it is likewise forbidden.
In regard to life-risking pregnancies, Jewish scholar Rashi
said that a fetus is not a viable soul until it's been born, and killing it to save the woman is permitted. Maimonides
supported the ruling using din rodef , thus likening an endangering pregnancy to the fetus killing the woman.
The question of the fetus's viability is addressed in two sources in the Talmud: in Yevamot 69, 2 the fetus in the first forty days of pregnancy is likened to water, "עד ארבעים יום מיא בעלמא"; in Nida
8, 2 the fetus is recognized from the second trimester, three months into the pregnancy, "וכמה הכרת עובר ... שלשה חדשים".
Various Jewish scholars have expressed lenient stances on abortions, allowing them up to a certain stage in the pregnancy or under specific circumstances. These include Yair Bacharach
of the 17th century, Moshe Feinstein
of the 20th century, who agreed with Maimonides's din rodef argument on the basis of the fetus's life being dependent upon the woman's, and contemporary scholar Eliezer Waldenberg
, who also argued in favor of abortions in cases of serious birth defects or extreme mental or psychological danger to the woman.
in Israel exists, although it is marginalized by more publicized and controversial issues. The debate as to the morality of abortion is antecendental to the debate about separation of religion and state
in the context of Israel as a Jewish
and democratic
country.
Liberal
political parties such as Meretz and Shinui
argue in favor of legalized abortion for reasons of personal liberty. Women's organizations such as Naamat and Shdulat HaNashim (women's lobby) argue in favor for feminist, pro-choice
reasons, such as reproductive rights
.
Jewish Orthodox
organizations, including political parties, argue against abortion as opposed to the Halakhah and therefore not acceptable in a Jewish country. Political parties include Shas
, a Mizrakhi
Ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism
, an Ashkenazi Ultra-Orthodox party, and the National Religious Party
, a zionist
Orthodox party. A study published in 2001 found that opposition to abortion among Israelis was correlated to strong religious beliefs — particularly Ultra-Orthodox
beliefs — below-average income, larger family size, and identification with right-wing politics
.
Efrat
is a religious organization that lobbies against abortions, as well as offering financial support for women who are considering abortion for economic reasons. Efrat's campaign includes stickers with the slogan, "Don't abort me" .
Be'ad Chaim is a pro-life nonprofit association.
A third organization which provides financial support and counseling to women who consider undergoing an abortion is Just One Life (J.O.L.) - which in Hebrew is known as Nefesh Achat B'Yisrael.
1977 penal code
Clauses 312-321 of the 1977 penal codeCriminal Code
A criminal code is a document which compiles all, or a significant amount of, a particular jurisdiction's criminal law...
limit the circumstances when an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
is legal in Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
. Abortions can only be performed in Israel by licenced gynecologists in recognized medical facilities that are specifically and publicly recognized as a provider of abortions. Abortions must be approved by the termination committee.
Circumstances under which abortion is legal
The termination committee approves abortions, under sub-section 316a, in the following circumstances:- The woman is younger than seventeen (the legal marriage age in Israel) or older than forty.
- The pregnancy was conceived under illegal circumstances (rapeRapeRape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
, statutory rapeStatutory rapeThe phrase statutory rape is a term used in some legal jurisdictions to describe sexual activities where one participant is below the age required to legally consent to the behavior...
etc.), an incestIncestIncest is sexual intercourse between close relatives that is usually illegal in the jurisdiction where it takes place and/or is conventionally considered a taboo. The term may apply to sexual activities between: individuals of close "blood relationship"; members of the same household; step...
uous relationship, or outside of marriage. - The fetusFetusA fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
may have a physical or mental birth defect. - Continued pregnancy may put the woman's life in risk, or damage her physically or mentally.
In practice, most requests for abortion are granted, and leniency is shown especially under the clause for emotional or psychological damage to the pregnant woman. According to the Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
Israel Central Bureau of Statistics
The Israel Central Bureau of Statistics , abbreviated CBS, is an Israeli government office established in 1949 to carry out research and publish statistical data on all aspects of Israeli life, including population, society, economy, industry, education and physical infrastructure.It is headed by a...
report from 2004, 19,500 legal abortions were performed in Israel in 2003, while 200 requests for abortion were denied. Most abortions were authorized because the woman was unmarried (42%), because of illegal circumstances (11%), health risks to the woman (about 20%), age of the woman (11%) and fetal birth defects (about 17%).
Socioeconomic circumstances
When the relevant section of the penal code was originally written, it contained a "social clause" permitting women to seek abortions for social reasons, such as economic distress. The clause was withdrawn in 1980 under the initiative of the OrthodoxOrthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
parties (see Shas
Shas
Shas is an ultra-orthodox religious political party in Israel, primarily representing Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi Judaism.Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the Ashkenazi dominated Agudat Israel, to represent the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi ...
, United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, two small Israeli Haredi political parties in the Knesset. It was first formed in 1992.The two parties have not always agreed with each other about policy matters...
and National Religious Party
National Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
).
This clause is still under debate in Israel. In 2004, MK
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
Reshef Chen of Shinui
Shinui
Shinui is a Zionist, secular and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collapse; in 1977 the party won 15 seats as part of the Democratic Movement for...
submitted an addendum to reinstate the clause, arguing that under present circumstances, women with financial problems must lie to the termination committee to obtain approval under the emotional or psychological damage clause, and that "no advanced country forces its citizens to lie in order to preserve religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, chauvinistic, patronizing archaic values." Women's organizations such as Naamat voiced their agreement with the proposal.
Unrestricted abortion
In 2006, MKKnesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
Zehava Gal-On of Meretz proposed a bill that would eliminate the termination committee, effectively decriminalizing
Decriminalization
Decriminalization or Decriminalisation is the abolition of criminal penalties in relation to certain acts, perhaps retroactively, though perhaps regulated permits or fines might still apply . The reverse process is criminalization.Decriminalization reflects changing social and moral views...
unrestricted abortion. Gal-On argued that women with financial means can have abortions in private clinic
Clinic
A clinic is a health care facility that is primarily devoted to the care of outpatients...
s, bypassing the committee and therefore gaining rights based on their wealth. The bill was rejected by a wide margin. It has been proposed again in 2007, and deliberations in the Knesset
Knesset
The Knesset is the unicameral legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.-Role in Israeli Government :The legislative branch of the Israeli government, the Knesset passes all laws, elects the President and Prime Minister , approves the cabinet, and supervises the work of the government...
are still pending.
Structure of the committee
The termination committee consists of three members, at least one of which is a woman. Of the three members, two must be licenced physicianPhysician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s, one an expert on obstetrics and gynaecology
Obstetrics and gynaecology
Obstetrics and gynaecology are the two surgical–medical specialties dealing with the female reproductive organs in their pregnant and non-pregnant state, respectively, and as such are often combined to form a single medical specialty and postgraduate training programme...
, and the other one either OB/GYN, internal medicine
Internal medicine
Internal medicine is the medical specialty dealing with the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of adult diseases. Physicians specializing in internal medicine are called internists. They are especially skilled in the management of patients who have undifferentiated or multi-system disease processes...
, psychiatry
Psychiatry
Psychiatry is the medical specialty devoted to the study and treatment of mental disorders. These mental disorders include various affective, behavioural, cognitive and perceptual abnormalities...
, family medicine
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
or public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
. The third member of the committee must be a social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
er.
Judaism on abortion
The TorahTorah
Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five books of the bible—Genesis , Exodus , Leviticus , Numbers and Deuteronomy Torah- A scroll containing the first five books of the BibleThe Torah , is name given by Jews to the first five...
contains no direct references to pregnancy termination, only to miscarriage
Miscarriage
Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the spontaneous end of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or fetus is incapable of surviving independently, generally defined in humans at prior to 20 weeks of gestation...
following violent altercation.
The Mishnah
Mishnah
The Mishnah or Mishna is the first major written redaction of the Jewish oral traditions called the "Oral Torah". It is also the first major work of Rabbinic Judaism. It was redacted c...
reference in Oholot
Oholot
Oholot is the second tractate of the Order of Tohorot in the Mishnah. It consists of eighteen chapters, which discuss the ritual impurity of corpses, and the peculiar quality they have to make all objects in the same tent-like structure impure as well...
7, 7 has been open to debate. Although the verse does not refer directly to abortion, it does refer to a case of life-threatening childbirth
Childbirth
Childbirth is the culmination of a human pregnancy or gestation period with the birth of one or more newborn infants from a woman's uterus...
and, if the birth is partial or the head has not yet emerged, the fetus can be killed to save the life of the woman (see pikuach nefesh
Pikuach Nefesh
The Hebrew term pikuakh nefesh describes the principle in Jewish law that the preservation of human life overrides virtually any other religious consideration...
).
Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
codified in the Mishneh Torah that the definition of murder according to the Noahide Laws
Noahide Laws
The Seven Laws of Noah form the major part of the Noachide Laws, or Noahide Code. This code is a set of moral imperatives that, according to the Talmud, were given by God as a binding set of laws for the "children of Noah" – that is, all of humankind...
includes a person who kills "even one unborn in the womb of its mother," and adds that such a person is liable for the death penalty.
The killing of an embryo is also recognized as murder in the Talmud
Talmud
The Talmud is a central text of mainstream Judaism. It takes the form of a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, philosophy, customs and history....
Sanhedrin 57b:
"A heathen is executed..for the murder of an embryo..Because it is written, Whoso sheddeth the blood of man within [another] man, shall his blood be shed. What is a man within another man? An embryo in his mother's womb."
Another explicit reference to abortion is in the Zohar
Zohar
The Zohar is the foundational work in the literature of Jewish mystical thought known as Kabbalah. It is a group of books including commentary on the mystical aspects of the Torah and scriptural interpretations as well as material on Mysticism, mythical cosmogony, and mystical psychology...
, where it is likewise forbidden.
In regard to life-risking pregnancies, Jewish scholar Rashi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzhaki , or in Latin Salomon Isaacides, and today generally known by the acronym Rashi , was a medieval French rabbi famed as the author of a comprehensive commentary on the Talmud, as well as a comprehensive commentary on the Tanakh...
said that a fetus is not a viable soul until it's been born, and killing it to save the woman is permitted. Maimonides
Maimonides
Moses ben-Maimon, called Maimonides and also known as Mūsā ibn Maymūn in Arabic, or Rambam , was a preeminent medieval Jewish philosopher and one of the greatest Torah scholars and physicians of the Middle Ages...
supported the ruling using din rodef , thus likening an endangering pregnancy to the fetus killing the woman.
The question of the fetus's viability is addressed in two sources in the Talmud: in Yevamot 69, 2 the fetus in the first forty days of pregnancy is likened to water, "עד ארבעים יום מיא בעלמא"; in Nida
Niddah
Niddah is a Hebrew term describing a woman during menstruation, or a woman who has menstruated and not yet completed the associated requirement of immersion in a mikveh ....
8, 2 the fetus is recognized from the second trimester, three months into the pregnancy, "וכמה הכרת עובר ... שלשה חדשים".
Various Jewish scholars have expressed lenient stances on abortions, allowing them up to a certain stage in the pregnancy or under specific circumstances. These include Yair Bacharach
Yair Bacharach
Yair Chayim Bacharach was a German rabbi, initially in Koblenz and remainder of his life in Worms and Metz...
of the 17th century, Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein
Moshe Feinstein was a Lithuanian Orthodox rabbi, scholar and posek , who was world-renowned for his expertise in Halakha and was regarded by many as the de facto supreme halakhic authority for Orthodox Jewry of North America during his lifetime...
of the 20th century, who agreed with Maimonides's din rodef argument on the basis of the fetus's life being dependent upon the woman's, and contemporary scholar Eliezer Waldenberg
Eliezer Waldenberg
Eliezer Yehuda Waldenberg was known as the Tzitz Eliezer after his monumental halachic treatise Tzitz Eliezer that covers a wide breadth of halacha, including Jewish medical ethics, as well as ritual halachic issues from Shabbat to kashrut...
, who also argued in favor of abortions in cases of serious birth defects or extreme mental or psychological danger to the woman.
Abortion debate in Israel
The abortion debateAbortion debate
The abortion debate refers to discussion and controversy surrounding the moral and legal status of abortion. The two main groups involved in the abortion debate are the self-described "pro-choice" movement and the "pro-life" movement...
in Israel exists, although it is marginalized by more publicized and controversial issues. The debate as to the morality of abortion is antecendental to the debate about separation of religion and state
Separation of church and state
The concept of the separation of church and state refers to the distance in the relationship between organized religion and the nation state....
in the context of Israel as a Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and democratic
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
country.
Liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
political parties such as Meretz and Shinui
Shinui
Shinui is a Zionist, secular and anti-clerical free market liberal party and political movement in Israel. The party twice became the third largest in the Knesset, but both occasions were followed by a split and collapse; in 1977 the party won 15 seats as part of the Democratic Movement for...
argue in favor of legalized abortion for reasons of personal liberty. Women's organizations such as Naamat and Shdulat HaNashim (women's lobby) argue in favor for feminist, pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
reasons, such as reproductive rights
Reproductive rights
Reproductive rights are legal rights and freedoms relating to reproduction and reproductive health. The World Health Organization defines reproductive rights as follows:...
.
Jewish Orthodox
Orthodox Judaism
Orthodox Judaism , is the approach to Judaism which adheres to the traditional interpretation and application of the laws and ethics of the Torah as legislated in the Talmudic texts by the Sanhedrin and subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and...
organizations, including political parties, argue against abortion as opposed to the Halakhah and therefore not acceptable in a Jewish country. Political parties include Shas
Shas
Shas is an ultra-orthodox religious political party in Israel, primarily representing Sephardic and Mizrahi Haredi Judaism.Shas was founded in 1984 by dissident members of the Ashkenazi dominated Agudat Israel, to represent the interests of religiously observant Sephardic and Mizrahi ...
, a Mizrakhi
Mizrahi Jews
Mizrahi Jews or Mizrahiyim, , also referred to as Adot HaMizrach are Jews descended from the Jewish communities of the Middle East, North Africa and the Caucasus...
Ultra-Orthodox party, United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism
United Torah Judaism is an alliance of Degel HaTorah and Agudat Israel, two small Israeli Haredi political parties in the Knesset. It was first formed in 1992.The two parties have not always agreed with each other about policy matters...
, an Ashkenazi Ultra-Orthodox party, and the National Religious Party
National Religious Party
The National Religious Party ) was a political party in Israel representing the religious Zionist movement. Formed in 1956, at the time of its dissolution in 2008, it was the second oldest surviving party in the country after Agudat Yisrael, and was part of every government coalition until 1992...
, a zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
Orthodox party. A study published in 2001 found that opposition to abortion among Israelis was correlated to strong religious beliefs — particularly Ultra-Orthodox
Haredi Judaism
Haredi or Charedi/Chareidi Judaism is the most conservative form of Orthodox Judaism, often referred to as ultra-Orthodox. A follower of Haredi Judaism is called a Haredi ....
beliefs — below-average income, larger family size, and identification with right-wing politics
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
.
Efrat
Efrat (organization)
Efrat is an Israeli pro-life group which tries to convince Jewish women not to perform an abortion. To this end, the organization distributes explanatory materials and offers economic aid to pregnant women considering abortion....
is a religious organization that lobbies against abortions, as well as offering financial support for women who are considering abortion for economic reasons. Efrat's campaign includes stickers with the slogan, "Don't abort me" .
Be'ad Chaim is a pro-life nonprofit association.
A third organization which provides financial support and counseling to women who consider undergoing an abortion is Just One Life (J.O.L.) - which in Hebrew is known as Nefesh Achat B'Yisrael.