Abortion reform: Approval panels stay; early terminations go from hospital to clinic
Months after Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz announced major reforms to the country’s abortion policies with the aim of making it easier for women to end a pregnancy, a report said there would not be the hoped-for abolition of the committees that decide whether a woman can have the procedure. While there will not be a sweeping elimination of the panels women need to persuade to allow them to terminate a pregnancy, there will be a number of changes to make the process easier.
Transition to Early Termination at Local Clinics
The reforms, to be formally announced in the coming days, are expected to include women being able to have abortions at up to nine weeks at clinics operated by health funds (HMOs) instead of the procedure only being carried out at hospitals, thereby improving access for many women. Drug-induced early-stage abortions will be done at local HMOs, which have responsibility for such procedures in many Western countries. Currently, there are only 38 committees across the country and it can be hard to schedule appointments with some of them due to application quotas.
Administrative Changes and Digital Applications
Another change that is expected to be announced by the Health Ministry is that the initial forms that are required for an abortion request will no longer need to be submitted in person at a hospital, and instead can be sent digitally. In addition, a woman requesting an abortion will not be required to initially meet with a social worker. The application form for abortion, which dates back to 1977, is expected to drop archaic questions that probed whether women or their partners used contraceptives. However, women will still be asked if they have had any previous abortions because the question was deemed to be medically relevant.
Legal Framework and Criteria
According to the report, there is not expected to be a change to the current law, under which the right to an abortion is granted by three-member pregnancy termination committees. Israel’s laws limit abortions, granting them only according to specific criteria, such as:
- A woman’s age
- Pregnancy outside of a marriage
- Pregnancy as the result of rape
- Health issues of the fetus or the woman
As a result of these limitations, many women feel they have no choice but to lie to the committee in order to be granted permission. Abolition of the committees would require a change in law, and it was believed that the fragile coalition would not have the necessary votes to pass such legislation due to opposition from coalition members such as Ra’am, an Islamist party, and parties on the right.
Statistics on Abortion Requests in Israel
The following data, cited by Ynet from the Health Ministry, highlights the current state of abortion applications and the timing of procedures:
| Category | Data |
|---|---|
| Total requests made in 2021 | 17,548 |
| Terminations carried out by the ninth week | 74% |
| Total committees available nationwide | 38 |
While the vast majority of requests are granted and abortions are state-subsidized, some women face lengthy waits before they can schedule a committee hearing, meaning that the procedure is sometimes carried out later in the pregnancy than necessary. Consequently, there is a socioeconomic divide, with many women who are able to afford them opting for private abortions outside the law that circumvent the committee process.