Israel has very liberal abortion laws. Any woman who wants to terminate a pregnancy must simply demonstrate to a three-person committee (two MDs and a Social Worker) that having the baby will cause her emotional or physical harm, or that the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. According to Eli Schussheim, president of the Israeli anti-abortion group EFRAT, sixty percent of Israeli abortions are prompted by financial problems. That's where EFRAT helps out. As presented in LifeNews:
When women in Israel register for abortions, they’re asked why they want to end the life of the child. If they say financial reasons, they are given EFRAT’s number. After a volunteer talks with them and assesses their needs, they may receive services from the organization.
Pregnant moms have diapers, formula, canned and dry food delivered to their door for a year. That’s over an $850 value that they receive for free. In some cases, Efrat helps mom for the second year, as well. Moms receive free baby equipment, including a crib, bassinet, baby bath, stroller, and baby kit. In addition, they are matched with a caring volunteer who provides support through their pregnancy.
The reason for Israel's liberal abortion laws is that most of the country is secular in nature and, since Jewish law is ambiguous when it comes to abortion, the more Observant Jews don't consider abortion a top priority. Traditional Jewish law says that life doesn't begin until the baby leaves the birth canal, and when a mother's life is in danger, an abortion is required. But, that doesn't mean abortion is approved of, either. The ancient rabbis taught that when the Israelites were were slaves in Egypt and Pharaoh declared that every male child must be killed, parents did not abort their babies and that act alone earned them the freedom from Slavery.
Even though it was decreed that "every son that is born you shall cast into the river" (Ex. 1:22) there was not found among them a person who would kill a fetus in the stomach of a woman, all the more so [not to kill it] after [it was born]. Through this merit, Israel went out of exile. (Zohar Shemot 3B)
It is that ambiguity which has kept abortion from being a key issues for the religious political parties - therefore, the focus of anti-Abortion groups such as EFRAT has been to prevent women from aborting their babies, rather than changing the law.
EFRAT's approach is uniquely Israeli. While it talks about the joy of children and women who regret terminating their pregnancy regretting their choice, it also talks about how having more babies can help to keep Israel a Jewish State, which makes taking their pregnancies to full-term a patriotic act (see video below).
So far, the group has put a dent in the number of abortions in Israel:
There are a shocking 50,000 abortions in Israel every year, many of which are due to economic concerns and can be prevented. The Efrat organization saves the lives of over 3,000 Jewish children every year by providing support to pregnant women in distress in Israel! Efrat is in its 35th year, has helped some 35,000 women.