News Brief18:38 PM

(IsraelNN.com) The Knesset discussed a bill on Wednesday that would limit abortions in Israel beyond the 22nd week of pregnancy.  “When a fetus is 22 weeks old, this is no longer an abortion, it's murder” Shas MK Nissim Zeev said in explanation of the bill.  The bill would not interfere with women’s rights over their bodies, he said, but rather, would “give life to a fetus that can be saved outside the uterus.” 

Shas head Minister Eli Yishai backed Zeev’s arguments, adding, “Even in France they are more extreme than us” in preventing late abortions.  The bill proposed by Zeev would allow abortions past 22 weeks only in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.

Justice Minister Daniel Friedmann spoke at the meeting and said the government objects to the bill.  The government had looked at various legal systems, including Jewish law, he said, and had not found a system that would ban late abortions as Shas wishes to do.