New York Times: Israel’s Abortion Committees
Mairav Zonszein, journalist and translator

“I knew Israeli law required that all abortions be approved by a committee. I also knew that the procedure was widely accessible. … The idea that anyone but me had the power to decide my family’s fate and mine was harrowing. Israel’s abortion policy, it hit me, was the opposite of liberal. … Israel’s policy sends a message to women that while the state will facilitate our abortions in practice, it refuses — in principle — to grant us the freedom to make that decision ourselves. And that is an infringement of our basic rights to bodily integrity and privacy. Often, when faced with criticism of Israel’s human rights record, its leaders and supporters like to boast about the country’s progressive credentials — its free press, its robust LGBT community, and the increasing number of women serving in combat. But you don’t often hear much about its abortion policy. Now I know why” (6/12).