The pro-life movement can seem like a uniquely American force. But the battle for life is worldwide and has a steadfast friend and ally in the Holy Land.
EFRAT (IsraelBabies.com) is the pro-life movement in Israel. We have helped thousands of women every single year prevent the terrible atrocity of abortions. Since 1977, 90,000 babies have been brought into the world safe and sound because of EFRAT’s life-giving work.
It is impossible to ignore the fact that since October 7, 2023, we are at war. We know now that no one is safe until this terrible period is over. I know it’s hard for Americans to imagine this reality, but this is what we are facing.
My son serves with the Golani brigade, one of five infantry brigades in the Israel Defense Forces. I love my son. My poor wife worries for him constantly and is often robbed of sleep because of her fears for him.
We are by their side so they can give birth and raise their babies with dignity, joy, and peace of mind
I know that every day I must trust my son to God Almighty. And while I cannot guarantee his safety, we can do something to preserve and protect life that is given by Him. In the moment of hearing that someone is considering abortion, what will we do?
EFRAT comes around pregnant moms in this moment of greatest need. Feeling great anxiety over the financial costs involved in having another child and oftentimes experiencing pressure to end the pregnancy, we are by their side so they can give birth and raise their babies with dignity, joy, and peace of mind.
Oftentimes I feel as though we are the outstretched arm of God Almighty Himself. This is an awesome and humbling privilege.
EFRAT offers material assistance in the form of a crib, a carriage, two years of baby diapers, and formula. We also provide job training for moms. And just as important, we are there to offer a blanket of support to these women who are under great duress.
And when we do that, now they are able to breathe and experience that deep desire to mother that baby, and when they have that opportunity, the clear answer to giving birth is an overwhelming yes.
I want to share an amazing story that shows the power of EFRAT’s support.
Eliana reached out to us after she became pregnant at the age of 40. She contemplated having an abortion. How could she care for a baby in her middle years? But she remembered a message she heard as a teenager.
She remembered an EFRAT event where the speaker shared about the development of the fetus. This is not protoplasm or something that is not quite a person, but a living, feeling image bearer of God being formed in the mother’s womb. This idea, this truth, stayed with her, and haunted her mind and heart even as she tried to ignore it.
Eliana is not a particularly religious person, but she felt the weight of the decision in front of her. “God, please show me a sign, please show me what you want me to do,” she said out loud. She was so bold as to say, “Show me that it is OK to end this pregnancy.”
Shortly after begging God to reveal His will, she walked out of her home. Just as she stepped through the front door, a bus passed by, and on the side of the bus was a sign with the name of a familiar organization: Efrat.
She reached out to us, and at the end of the day, she had her baby, thank God.
But that is not the end of the story.
Several months after giving birth came the terrors of October 7. Her adult daughter was attending the Nova Music Festival in Israel’s south, not far from the Gaza border, and she was one of the young people murdered that day.
“All I wanted to do was crawl under blankets and die,” she shared with me. “But I had a little baby to care for, and I needed to continue living.”
God chose this woman to have this baby. And now this baby has ended up saving her life.
In Deuteronomy 30:19, Moses challenges Israel with these words: “This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.”
Join with us as we help these women choose life for themselves and their babies. In this way, you can also obey the command of God in Genesis 12:3 to bless the people of Israel, and so thereby receive a blessing. I beg you, as you are reading these words, hear the voice of God calling you to help more Jewish babies come into the world.
When you support EFRAT, you are giving these women the greatest gift in their lives, and that is their child.
To learn more, visit IsraelBabies.com.
By Nir Salomon
Executive Director, EFRAT
