The new regulations released governing the state medical basket include an allocation of 16 million NIS annually for the termination of pregnancy for non medical needs. Rebitzen Dr. Chana Katin of the National Council for Women’s Health calls the decision “outrageous”, pointing out the committee makers “have given preference to a small group while ignoring the general population.”
This new reality will permit terminating a pregnancy without proving medical need, and the state will pick up part of the bill.
The 18-member committee is headed by Shaare Zedek Medical Center Medical Director Prof. Yonatan Halevy. The committee’s recommendations are submitted to Health Minister Yael German, and the National Health Council will make the final determination but this more of a formality as the council usually accepts the committee’s recommendations.
The committee for a first time approved NIS 2,500 of the cost of approved abortions for women aged 20 to 33, affecting some 6,300 women who would otherwise have to pay all costs on their own. This decision is unquestionably the most significant in the new health basket.
Katin told the dati leumi Kippa website that one may look at the national health basket “as a type of gemach” that is supposed to take the needs of the nation into consideration when deciding which drugs to fund. Members of the committee are expected to address new technologies and drugs and decide what to approve.
Katin admits “there are many dilemmas” as the budget is limited and some of the new cancer drugs for example were not included. There are also procedures including early detection of osteoporosis, robotic surgical technology, and so forth. Committee members at times must decide between drugs that relieve pain or life saving medication. The doctor feels the committee must remain focused on assisting a large a population base as possible.
Katin says that as a person, physician and in the name of the council she would have preferred seeing the abortion funds being allocated to fertility treatments for a third child or more, or an increased childbirth allocation for parents, or event to pay for a beis hachlama for a mom after birth. Katin adds there is also a need for increased funding to assist treating women with post partum depression or for a subsidy for adjuncts that assist women to remain healthy. She points out that unfortunately, instead of funding any of these areas that increase our population; the government has done just the opposite by allocating funds for a very small segment of the population.
“Why give a gift to single or married women who are sorry about the life forming and assist her in terminating it” Dr. Kagin asks.
She adds “the protocols of the committee remain confidential but on the face of things, the decision is wrong and biased. Will there be a sound voice in the Health Ministry that expresses objections to this?”
UPDATE:
The National Health Council has given its approval to the recommended health basket.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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12 Responses
All frum people, as well as all others who understand how terrible this is, should refuse to pay taxes until this is repealed. We should never agree to fund such a travesty!
Aha, so, for Torah study, the Government has no money but to encourage women to MURDER their babys, they suddenly have?! Hey Lipman, why don’t you teach these women about abstinence? It works every time & wont cost the Government a dime!
This is the state of affairs in the “Holyland”. Gay marriage & abortion on demand are encouraged by the Government! This is the new “Light to the Nations”!!! DISGUSTING!!!
The reality is that Jew is more likely to be killed by a zionist abortionist than an Arab terrorist. The reality is that number of abortions of healthy Jewish babies being carried by healthy Jewish mothers (i.e. situations where abortion is clearly banned by halacha under all situations) is greater than the number of Jewish casulties in the Arab-Israeli conflict (which began just under a century ago), is probably greater than the number of Jews kills by crusaders or cossacks (okay, populations in general were quite low then, at least by modern standards).
But then again, what do you expect from a country that regards hareidim as parasites, considers it progress to try to break up yeshivos and drag their students away from learning to do make work military jobs, and who even have a line in their national anthem saying the purpose of the nation is to be people (עם חופשי) free from the burden of Torah and Mitsvos.
You guys sit here all day complaining about the “Treife Zionishe Medineh” and then when they act like the way YOU describe it, YOU go nuts.
Without in any way detracting from the seriousness of this issue, I’m bothered by the use of a non-Jewish slogan/logo to illustrate this report.
Although abortion (outside the criteria permitted by halacha) is a serious avairah, it is not murder. Hyperbole is common in the comments sections, I expect more from the reportage.
This news piece was perfect fodder for the people who commented here as one can see. HELLO WAKE UP its time you think out of the box and realize that you cannot expect much from the current leadership and instead of blaming, shift your focus and energies to the big job that needs to take place in the Yeshiva world. That is; recognizing that the state of Israel is not just a Zionist enterprise that we bash and blame at every given opportunity, rather its OUR national responsibility! Practically speaking this means that whoever can move there MOVE. We have to build it up and turn it into the Light Unto The Nations that it is supposed to be ! The Charedi attitude of the last 60 years has got to go as we need to turn Medinat Yisrael into Medinat Torat Yisrael.
p.s. Its small minded to just blame the Zionists for getting us into this problem, its already too late…. 44% of Klal Yisrael already live in Israel so its a done deal.
Additionally If its OUR responsibility then even if we don’t send all our youth to the army as they should be learning Torah, HOWEVER its chillul hashem norah to shirk this responsibility so blatantly as to not even offer some respect or counter plan for example for those who will not be learning full time their whole life.
When your 2 year old daughter fights with your 20 year old son, from who do you expect the better behavior ?
“NotGettingInvolved”:
The last line in akuperma’s post is the “money line”.
The goal of Zionism, including the State of Israel, is to be just another goy nation.
Zionism is all about being NOT different than the gentiles, NOT to be a light unto the nations.
The Chutzpah is just unbelievable.
שם רשעים ירקב
We didn’t hear from Lipman lately…
Another one of the stupid things that the government does. When every Jewish baby is needed (and I must add, wanted by many for adoption), it is foolhardy to help fund abortions.
We have always held that aborting a baby is homicide. We allow it only in the situations in which we would normally allow homicide, such as (the very rare) situation where there is no other way to save the mother’s life. “Murder” by definition is unlawful homicide, and aborting a baby when the mother’s life is not endangered, is by definition murder. The logo used by the YWN editors was appropriate.
#5 Olesker is right – abortion is a serious issur, but it is NOT, halachicly, considered murder (for one subject to Taryag Mistzvos, at least – for one subject to the Sheva Mitzvos B’nei Noach, there is an argument that it may be considered murder).
This law should be fought, but you undermine the effectiveness of your position when you use terminology/slogans that are demonstrably false.
an Israeli Yid
#10 akuperma – you are oversimplifying an extremely complex issue. Questions as to when abortion is permitted by Halacha should be decided by qualified Rabbanim with knowledge of not only Halacha, but also medicine and psychology – and not by overactive commentators on YWN.
I am personally aware of at least one case where there were reasons other than physical danger to the life of the mother where a Rav paskened that abortion was allowed. as such, the logo used is, in fact, incorrect.
an Israeli Yid