Nobody's Child, Everybody's Children:

Fertility in Israel

Ten percent of Israeli couples have fertility problems and about 10% of them (approx. 15,000 couples per year) are undergoing IVF cycles (20,000 cycles annually). In relation to a total population of 7,000,000 citizens, these numbers are huge. In Israel, there are 27 IVF clinics and all but two are public.  

In 1987 the state of Israel passed a law declaring that the state would cover the costs of fertility treatments until 2 children per family are born.

The reasons for this flourish of fertility activity are sociological, mental, cultural, religious, and personal. Most Israeli couples are confronted with society’s expectation to prioritize birth over career, which may have led to deep frustration. Religious individuals and parties also put pressure on the government to pass the law. As reproduction is the first commandment in the bible and religious Jews take this commandment seriously, they do their best to have as many children as they can. At the same time, Israel faces problems with sperm donations, as religious men neither donate sperm nor use sperm from a donor, although egg donation is allowed. Culturally, even the Hebrew language revolves around the importance of fertility, as Hebrew translates a couple’s “lack of children” as having “darkness in their life.” These factors combined to create an environment that led Israel to become the “state of fertility treatments”. The state’s own attitude can be explained by the demographic situation, i.e., the state declared, “we need more Jews in the Jewish state.”