How can girls be ensured access to contraception when their parents do not consent? The conference, held as a round table, brought together for the first time those who hold different parts of this question: the Ministry of Health, physicians, the Ethics Bureau of the Israeli Medical Association, the health funds, and field organizations working with adolescent girls.
What happened at the conference
- First session, a view from the field: Prof. Maya Peled-Raz and Dr. Matan Elami-Suzin presented the dilemmas of the current situation. Respondents: Dr. Dina Zimmerman of the Ministry of Health, Prof. Roni Maymon and Dr. Amos Bar.
- Second session, a proposed legal framework: Prof. Noya Rimalt and Ms. Maya Tzipor Ben Zvi (Forum 21) presented a proposal for better regulation. Respondents: Dr. Yossi Walfisch, chair of the Ethics Committee of the Israeli Medical Association, and Adv. Ofrit Barnea-Modlin of Clalit Health Services.
- Open discussion: alongside the speakers, participants included representatives of the Ministry of Health legal department, hospital physicians, and representatives of organizations such as “Ladaat – Choose Right”, “Open Door” and Physicians for Human Rights.
The event addressed the gap between a right and actual access: girls who cannot obtain their parents’ consent face difficulties in accessing contraception. The conference brought together law, medicine and policy to seek fairer regulation, and it concluded with an agreement to draft a position paper, backed by the various professional bodies, to drive change on the ground.
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Invitation
