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What to Expect When You’re Expecting in Israel

The Jewish state’s unique fertility policies

by
Marc Tracy
July 18, 2011
In vitro fertilization.(Science3Point0.com/Flickr)
In vitro fertilization.(Science3Point0.com/Flickr)

No hard feelings: One daily magazine of Jewish life and culture is bound to overlap with another. The New York Times runs a great article today on Israel’s one-of-a-kind birth policies, including a health care system that provides unlimited free in vitro fertilization procedures for most women of child-bearing age up to two children. Almost twice as many such procedures are performed per 10,000 people as in the second-most country (Iceland, for those keeping score).

For those interested in additional reading on the world’s most pro-natal country, a few Tablet Magazine pieces:

• Simone Gorrindo on Israel’s unique abortion politics (this ran today).

• A podcast with Rebecca Steinfeld on the roots and details of Israel’s birth policies.

• Steinfeld herself on how Yigal Amir, Yitzhak Rabin’s assassin, managed to become a father from solitary confinement.

• Columnist Michelle Goldberg on Israel’s extremely high usage of advanced reproductive technologies.

Marc Tracy is a staff writer at The New Republic, and was previously a staff writer at Tablet. He tweets @marcatracy.