Israel Health Minister loosens abortion restrictions after US Supreme Court ruling

Israel’s government will be loosening restrictions on feticide next month as part of a reform sponsored by Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, reported Ynet News. The decision comes in response to last week’s ruling by the United States Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade and returning abortion laws to the states. 

The Knesset Labor Welfare and Health Committee approved the new regulations Monday, which include making abortion available at HMO clinics and not only at hospitals. 

Currently, women in Israel who want an abortion must appear before a committee consisting of two physicians – one of whom must be an OB/GYN - and one social worker. At least one of them must be female. The committee conducts tests to determine if the fetus is a danger to the mother’s mental or physical health, the product of an illicit relationship or the product of rape. 

But now women need no longer appear before the committee in person. 

In addition, the application to get an abortion will be simplified and shortened to be “less degrading”. 

The abortion rate in Israel has been steadily declining for 32 years, according to the Jerusalem Post, with 17,688 females turning to termination committees in 2019. An estimated 99.4% of applications were approved. 

But even with few women seeking abortions and a high approval rate for the ones who do, Horowitz believes Israel is falling short in assisting feticide. 

“A woman has a complete right over her body,” said Health Minister Horowitz in a statement. “The SCOTUS decision to negate a woman’s right to make a choice over her own body is a sad process of women’s repression, setting the leader of the free and liberal world 100 years back.” 

“The reform we approved today will create a simpler process, that is more respectful, advanced, and maintains a woman’s right to make decisions over her own body – a basic human right,” he added. 

This is not the first time that Horowitz, who also heads the small liberal Meretz party, has issued medical edicts purely based on politics. 

As Minister of Health, Horowitz was one of the chief architects of Israel’s harsh response to COVID-19, which included multiple lockdowns, forced vaccinations and a two-year mask mandate. Horowitz helped introduce and enforce the world’s first vaccine passport.   

In September, a conversation between Horowitz and Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked was caught on hot mic, in which the health minister revealed that the vaccine passport is being used purely as a tool of coercion, since there is no epidemiological evidence for many places where it is required.  

Then, documents released in December under Israel's Freedom of Information Act revealed that Israel’s Health Ministry imposed mask mandates to send an “educational” message to increase COVID compliance, knowing masks had “no strong scientific basis” before forcing them upon their populace on the pain of fines and police brutality.