Posted on 01/11/2014 9:53:21 AM PST by NYer
In a move that can only be described as incomprehensible and utterly tragic, Israel’s cabinet approved a new health policy that will cover all abortions for women from age 20-33 in the year of 2014. The government will pay for abortions at a cost of $4.6 million dollars. These state funded abortions will seek to provide funding for up to 6,300 women.
The Jewish Chronicle Online describes this decision as one that showcases how progressive and forward-leaning the country’s political stance can be, despite still having a dominant religious lobby, and a conservative prime minister.
Before this ruling, subsidized abortions in Israel were allowed only through approval of a special committee and in cases of sexual abuse, life endangerment or for women under 20 or over 40. Although women will still be required to go before a committee before aborting they now have access to free abortions for any reason. A Daily Beast article highlighting abortion in Israel explains that while abortions have to be approved by committee virtually every case is approved and doctors who perform abortions illegally outside of the state system are never prosecuted.
Dr. Yonathan Halevy of the Shaare Zedek Medical Center leads Israel’s Health Ministry commission who made the ruling. Dr. Yonatan told the Times of Israel, “We want large families in Israel. We definitely encourage birth. “But when pregnancy occurs and it is undesired or inadvertent, I think we should supply the means to end the pregnancy properly.”
This abortion ruling makes Israel one of the most liberal nations in the world in regards to abortion. Although Israeli health officials hope this initiative will inspire international state-funded abortions, religious leaders inside the nation and throughout the globe are condemning this new ruling.
Rabbi David Stav, head of a liberal group of Orthodox rabbis told the Times of Israel there was “no question” that in the absence of a medical emergency, abortion is against Jewish law.
Dr. Eli Schussheim, chairman of the pro-life group Efrat, compared the decision to theft, saying that by allocating funding for non-medically necessary abortions, the committee “is stealing… from sick people… and giving the money instead as a prize to 6,000 negligent women.”
The Baptist Press quoted C. Ben Mitchell a professor of moral philosophy at Union Univ. in Jackson, Tenn who said, “Israel has been wracked by bloodshed for centuries. It seems almost unimaginable that the state would now fund violence in the womb. We must add this to our prayer for the peace of Jerusalem.”
The Baptist Press also talked to Sandy Shoshani who leads Be’ad Chaim, a pro-life organization in Israel. She pleaded, “If you want to stand with Israel, then pray that we would stop our abortions. Write to our minister of health, write to our hospital directors. “I think that’s the way to go because the government doesn’t care at all, but the hospitals are getting money from Christians. They could be pushed. She goes on to say, “If you really love Israel, you want to stop abortion here, not support it.”
Israel’s Library of congress records that around 40,000 abortions take place in Israel yearly, with nearly half of them being illegal.
Ping!
I wonder if foreign aid to Israel could be cut off under the Hyde Amendment.
This isn’t going to go well in God’s eyes.
5.56mm
The liberals have really made life cheap. Hell, now it’s “FREE”. I know this is Israel but it still sickens me that another human being can be robbed of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Do-it-yourself Holocaust.
I seem to remember something about sacrificing children to Molech in this region. What ever happened to those people?
Israel, of all places. This really surpises me. I mean, they mention the Holocaust at every opportunity; and then they sanction this, a holocaust of the most innocent among them?
They should cease mentioning the Holocaust at all after this.
Since the Moslems living in Israel won’t likely avail themselves of this service might one consider this a suicide pact of sorts? Kill your Jewish children while your homegrown Muslim enemies procreate at high numbers. No demographic time bomb there.
Good thing that Israeli baby is already born I guess.
I predict Israel will end in a similar way, albeit much bloodier. There will be fighting in the streets of Tel Aviv, bloody massacres and gas attacks across the country, total Islamic control over Jerusalem...And in the end PA flags flying over the government buildings. America will do nothing, the media will cheer, and I'm afraid I won't be overly put out over it. Not after this.
God will not be mocked.
Very sad.
The Arabs must be celebrating this “progressive thinking” on the part of the Jews.
Very sad, indeed.
I seem to remember something about sacrificing children to Molech in this region. What ever happened to those people?
The Babylonian exile.
5.56mm
If they keep this up, there won’t be any need for Palestinian terrorists or Iranian nuclear weapons after all.
You have to remember that Muzzies and Leftist worship at the altar of Death and Destruction.
The more innocent the blood they take the better they feel.
It’s very much like the pagan cultures that sacrificed their children to Molech, some volcano god, or the gods the Maya worshiped.
A bunch of throwbacks if I ever did see.
I hope the rabbis take these murderers to task.
The decision also is bad for Jews in that there aren't many Jews in the first place.
For a country that is continually undermanned by its neighbors, this makes no sense.
Israel is subject to the same “progressive pressures” that USA is, especially on matters like this. It is a miracle that Israel has maintained a fairly conservative rule against most abortions. That was basically consistent with Jewish religious law, which begins with an anti-abortion stance and only makes exceptions in individual cases (always to save the life of the mother, occasionally for extremely serious birth defects, etc.)
Whether 6000 abortions would still fall within this (basically) pro-life religious law, remains to be seen. Perhaps that is what they are trying to accomplish, especially since that number of abortions is nothing near the number that would occur if Israel adopted the American “abortion on demand” policy.
For more info on Jewish religious teachings re: abortion,
a good place to begin is: http://www.aish.com/ci/sam/48954946.html
(Keep in mind that some American Jews have largely abandoned their religious heritage in favor of a secularist approach to life. This is similar to may “liberal Protestants” and “cafeteria Catholics” in USA. Alas. But, the religious Jews continue to honor the Biblical, religious teachings... which are summarized fairly well in the above short article.)
For anyone wishing to help avert abortions in Israel, to actually do something tangibly positive instead of just typing commentary notes?.....this charity appears to have a very good reputation, check it out... (also a good example of what can be done anywhere in the world to help mothers keep their babies alive and avoid the abortion mills)...
http://www.efrat.org.il/english/
It may be worthwhile to observe that the Obama regime is sponsoring both abortion on demand type “services” and the homosexual “lifestyle” all around the world, (not just in USA), .....including in countries whose predominant cultures are extremely hostile to these things. (A lot of our tax money is spent promoting or providing these things... the first thing I’d like to see is a cut-off of tax money going to “Planned Parenthood”... just my 2 cents worth....).
If this were CA, calls for death and destruction of the state would soon follow...
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