Member of Knesset Nissim Zeev, from the religious Shas party, submitted a bill this week that would make abortions past the twenty-second week of pregnancy illegal unless

There were 18,808 official abortion requests in 2005.

carrying to term threatened the mother's life. MK Zehava Gal-On of the far-left Meretz party had earlier introduced a proposal that would allow women to abort pregnancies for any reason. 

Under current laws, women must receive approval from a special committee in order to have an abortion performed. The "termination committee," as it is known, is comprised of three members, at least one of whom is female. Two of the committee members are licensed physicians and one, a social worker. The law grants the committee the right to authorize abortions for women under the age of 17 or over the age of 40, women who are pregnant due to rape, incest or adultery, in cases in which the fetus has been diagnosed with a birth defect, or if the pregnancy or birth is a risk to the mother's life or will cause permanent damage to her health.

According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, there were 18,808 official abortion requests in 2005, down from 19,700 in 2003. Of the 2005 figures, 14,384 requests were filed by Jewish women. Only a few hundred termination applications are denied by the committee each year. The great majority of the requests, nearly 17,000, were filed prior to the 12th week of pregnancy, well before the provisions of MK Zeev's proposed law would apply.

In explaining her bill, which would eliminate the need for state approval altogether, MK Gal-On called the required meeting with the termination committee a "humiliating ordeal," and said the requirement discriminates based on financial status. Rich women can afford illegal abortions in private clinics, she observed, while other women cannot afford an abortion if their request is denied. Gal-On submitted the same bill six months ago, but it failed to pass a preliminary hearing, leading her to resubmit it in November.

According to the Shas bill, any abortion after the twenty-second week would need to be approved by two physicians. "At 22 weeks, the fetus is alive," MK Zeev argued.

MK Zeev's bill would represent a partial application of Jewish law.

"Terminating the pregnancy at that point constitutes murder and not an abortion."

MK Zeev's bill would represent a partial application of Jewish law, Halakha, which generally permits abortion only if there is a direct threat to the life of the mother inherent in the pregnancy or birth. In such a circumstance, the baby is considered tantamount to a life-threatening pursuer until the moment the baby's head or most of its body has been delivered.

Over 148,000 babies were born in Israel in 2006, according to CBS figures. 71 percent of the babies were born to Jewish families, 23 percent to Arab Muslim families, and the rest to Druze, Christians, and others.