Knesset discusses bill limiting abortions

The Knesset held a discussion Wednesday on a new bill proposing to limit abortions in Israel. The bill, which was submitted by Shas MK Nissim Zeev, will be brought before the Knesset for a preliminary reading next week.

"What goes on in Israel amounts to lawlessness. Fetuses are being murdered on a daily basis," MK Zeev said during the discussion.

According to the bill, women will not be allowed to carry out an abortion after the 22nd week of their pregnancy, unless two physicians confirm that the pregnancy presents a risk to the mother's life.

Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann explained that the government objected to the bill. "Various legal systems, including Jewish law, offer different solutions to the issue of terminating a pregnancy. We could not find one judicial system that supports the proposed stance, nor find other arguments that lead to the conclusion that the current law should be amended."

'Abortions – premeditated murder'

Presenting his stance to the Knesset, MK Zeev stated, "When a fetus is 22 weeks-old this is no longer an abortion, it's premeditated murder… the fetus cannot cry out. Therefore, the stance that preventing an abortion constitutes interference with the woman's freedom of choice and her right over her body is unfounded. This is about giving life to a fetus that can be saved outside the uterus.

"The process of terminating a pregnancy after the 22nd week is a cruel one: The fetus is killed with an injection and then removed from the uterus in parts or in one piece using suction, a process which crushes the fetus' organs, causing suffering and torment to the fetus."

Zeev maintained that other countries have instituted much harsher laws on the issue of abortions. "Why should Israel be such a backwards nation compared to other countries? And we call ourselves enlightened."