About 40,000 abortions take place in Israel every year, about half of them legal. Today, abortion remains rampant in Israel. Be'ad Chaim and similar groups are reaching out to help pregnant women. A 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 (rape, statutory rape etc.), in an incestuous relationship, or outside of marriage. The fetus 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 cases where the woman is granted an abortion due to the baby being conceived under illegal circumstances or incest, the fetus has a serious physical or mental defect, or the mother's health is in danger, the state pays for the abortion. Women who get pregnant while doing their military service are entitled to free, state-financed abortion. 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. In addition, about half of all abortions are performed illegally in private doctors' clinics without approval from a committee. Though women who get an illegal abortion face no criminal penalties, physicians who perform them can face a fine or up to five years' imprisonment, but there have been no known prosecutions of doctors for performing illegal abortions. The abortion debate 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 Sephardic Haredi party, United Torah Judaism, an Ashkenazi Haredi 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 Haredi 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" (Hebrew: אל תפילו אותי‎). A third organization which provides financial support and counseling to women who consider undergoing an abortion is Just One Life (JOL) which in Hebrew is known as Nefesh Achat B'Yisrael. 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. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lb5z0_LOHFk http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abortion_in_Israel FAIR USE NOTICE: This Video may contain copyrighted (© ) material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Such material is made available to advance understanding of ecological, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. It is believed that this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior general interest in receiving similar information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text

• published: 09 Sep 2013
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