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The data prove: Many religious men and women perform abortions every year Israel today

2022-02-22T10:10:10.779Z


In the sectors, they are convinced that the world of abortions is as far away as East from West, but the data show that the situation on the ground is completely different.


The Ministry of Health has recently decided to make it easier for women who want to have an abortion and try to make it as difficult as possible for them when they are facing abortion committees.

Quite a few people in the ultra-Orthodox and national religious public may react indifferently to this move from the perception that the world of abortions is as far from them as East is from West, but the data indicate that the situation is completely different.

Data collected in recent years by the Efrat Association, which supports women considering having an abortion and helps them maintain their pregnancy, shows that the proportion of women who approached them from the ultra-Orthodox and national religious sectors is consistent with the proportion of these populations in society. More conservative, fewer deal with this issue compared to the rest of Israeli society.

In 2020, out of 2104 women who considered having an abortion and applied to the association, 511 of them (24.2%) were religious.

In 2019, 441 religious women out of 2008 totaled (22.4%) while in 2018 the rate of religious applicants was 24.4%.

It should be noted that this is not accurate data because many women do not want to reveal their sectoral or religious affiliation, however from a segmentation of accompanying data such as place of residence and number of children, it is possible to trace with great certainty those belonging to the religious public.

"About two years ago, I became pregnant unplanned," says L. from Jerusalem, who belongs to the ultra-Orthodox sector.

According to her, her husband who felt the burden of raising their four children tried to persuade her to terminate the pregnancy.

"My husband really helps me raise the children and gives their soul for them. So when he said it was hard for him and he was incapable, I understood him and after we found halakhic beliefs that it was possible we decided to go for it."

However, L. continued to deliberate and was not satisfied with the decision.

"I was very stressed and scared to carry this move on my back and it also affected our relationship."

After talking to a friend who had previously had an abortion and expressed regret for it, she decided to seek help, "I cried a lot at the time. I had heard of Efrat before, but I never thought I would need help from them."

Finally, her husband was persuaded to proceed with the pregnancy as planned and a five-year-old joined the family.

"Today I look with teary eyes at the precious treasure we received and can not imagine my life if God forbid I would have acted differently."

M., also from Jerusalem and belonging to the national religious public, became pregnant on the fifth and unplanned pregnancy.

The thought of an abortion caught her in light of the difficult economic situation she and her husband were in.

"We lived from hand to mouth and thought that at that stage another child would be a burden. True, I am a mother and I am a religious woman and it sounds strange but in the end you have to raise the children and you can not raise a child if you have no way to feed him."

Pregnant woman (isolation), Photo: Getty Images

M. also remembered the previous births that were not easy for her, "My mental state was not good, so I considered having an abortion without revealing to anyone, not even my husband who at that time still did not know I was pregnant. I also did not want to share the environment because I was afraid I would be told That it is halakhically forbidden and that I must give birth. "

Like L., she too, in collaboration with her partner, turned to Efrat and eventually decided to give birth to her daughter as planned.

"Looking back I look at her and think what I would have done if I had never brought her in. Conscience would have killed me. Unfortunately, there are a lot of religious women for whom this has happened."

For Ruthi Tidhar, who works as a social worker for the association, these stories are not at all surprising. "Relationships and economic hardships bring women from all walks of life and religions to think of an abortion even if they come from a conservative and traditional worldview. In this aspect, we meet Israeli society in all its forms."

According to her, this ignorance can sometimes be jarring when it comes to the environment of religious women, "There is no doubt that when a single girl becomes pregnant out of wedlock, for religious parents the challenge is very great. I have seen over the years parents who were willing to turn their backs on their daughter I find it easy to deal with it "

The religious considerations, she says, she and her friends make sure to keep out of the picture even when it comes to religious women, "When a volunteer receives a patient, she chooses a very sensitive language whose whole essence is expressing empathy, non-judgment, big bride and trying to help solve the applicant's momentary distress. "We leave the halakhic and religious arguments to clerics, because there is no point in saying anything that is not heard.

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Source: israelhayom

All news articles on 2022-02-22

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