News

By Hilary White
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  JERUSALEM, June 29, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – The Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, has voted overwhelmingly to reject a proposal to expand abortion availability. The vote was 39 to 9 against a proposal to abolish the committees – made up of doctors, rabbis and social workers – that currently judge whether a woman may have an abortion. These committees are criticized by pro-abortion feminists in the Knesset who say they are an obstacle to abortion.
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  Approximately 40,000 abortions are committed against Israeli children per year.
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  In 2002 University of Haifa’s professor Arnon Sofer warned that Israel was facing the same threat of population collapse as most western nations.
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“I am very concerned. If this is the process, and the problem is not dealt with, our country is finished in 17 years, and there will be a collapse,” he told the Jerusalem Post.
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  The pro-life movement is gaining ground in Israel and in Judaism in general. In 1997 the Jerusalem Post published a series of advertisements telling the story of a child slated for abortion, from his point of view. “Mommy let me live!” was sponsored by Efrat: The International Organization for Saving Jewish Babies. Efrat states its purpose very simply: “engaged in a struggle to prevent the intentional termination of pregnancies….The story of Efrat is a wonderful success story of saving Jewish babies.”
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  The organization, made up of doctors, psychologists, social workers, rabbis, and public figures say their policy is simple, “We cannot prevent a woman from having an abortion if she really wants one and is determined to go ahead. But it is our humanitarian and professional duty to explain to her all the repercussions of her actions. Knowledge of all the facts will allow the woman to make the right choice.”
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  The group also provides material support for expectant mothers and vigorously refutes the assertion, made officially by the largest Jewish segment in the US, Reform Judaism, that “Judaism is pro-abortion,” and consider their work to save Jewish children a “mitzvah:” a holy act of piety.
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  Visit the Friends of Efrat website:
https://www.friendsofefrat.org/