A heroic Israeli doctor who has saved more than 57,000 lives is flying to Manchester to help women struggling to make decisions about abortion.
Dr Eli Schussheim is the founding father behind the charity Efrat, which provides pregnant women with support and financial backing to keep a child rather than be forced to terminate their pregnancy.
He will be working his way across Manchester from May 23 giving talks to various groups as well as offering private meetings to help advise women considering abortion.
Dr Schussheim told MM: “Our aim is to help woman who are struggling with the decision of whether to have an abortion or not.
“People don’t realise that having an abortion is emotionally very traumatic – no woman has an abortion without feeling sorrow.
“We provide financial assistance because the main difficulty in Israel is that mothers are forced to have abortions because they can’t afford to keep the child.”
In Israel, there are approximately 20,000 legal abortions each year – which is believed to represent only half the total terminations with a further 20,000 sanctioned illegally.
Efrat help around 10% of women considering abortions every 12 months and offer financial assistance by providing nappies and other essential items during the early years of around 4,000 children’s lives.
“It costs the Israeli government to about £700 to conduct an abortion which is really hits home how little it costs to save a child’s life,” he said.
Typically, the foundation is contacted by women who are struggling with the prospect of having a child (or another child) often down to their financial situation.
They are then assigned a volunteer, who has often been in the same position, to listen to the situation and offer a shoulder to cry on.
The helper is then in an informed position to help the mother realise what is the best decision for her without worrying about the financial side – because Efrat provide support.
“We are not a pro-life organisation we are more pro-choice – what we are here to do is help pregnant women make a decision and in most cases take away the financial burden,” added Chief Efrat Social Carer Ruth Tidhar.
“We have 3000 volunteers that provide assistance and give out equipment. Each baby receives nappies, a cot, a bath and wipes which gives women the courage to keep the child.”
The charity has been running since 1977 and has helped more than an estimated 57,000 mothers in that time.
Image courtesy of Efrat via Youtube with thanks
