Health Ministry statistics for 2002 show that almost 20,000 abortions were carried out in Israel last year - some 40% of them in hospitals and the rest in private clinics. Efrat, an organization dedicated to encouraging Jewish population growth in Israel, reports that it saved 1,336 fetuses from being aborted last year - 11% more than in the previous year. The same trend is apparent this year, and the organization notes, "These are not merely dry statistics; every life is an entire world." Over 700 mothers, many of whom originally wanted to abort their babies because of economic difficulties, currently receive monthly allowances from Efrat.