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The fight for women’s reproductive rights is one of the longest and most important in the feminist movement’s history, and this new low point in the United States is inconceivable.
Israeli law also prohibits pregnancy termination other than for several preset reasons listed by the legislator. A woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy must appear before a medical committee and ask it for permission to undergo the medical procedure. This practice, which has been in place for decades, defies the principle of the patient’s autonomy over her body and reflects a paternalistic approach that no longer has a place in medicine.
Though American and Israeli laws on the matter are similar, in the States, it is the woman terminating a pregnancy who would be criminally liable, while in Israel, it is the physicians performing the procedure who are the offenders. The fact that the government determines what constitutes proper medical practice through criminal enforcement violates both women’s rights to bodily autonomy and medical ethics and professionalism, forcing the health care system to participate in a violation of human rights.
PHRI is one of the signatories of an open letter released today by a coalition of organizations working to eliminate pregnancy termination committees and end the injustice toward women and the health care system.
