ABSTRACT
These two Biblical passages epitomize the special connotation of fertility in Israel, and reflect the importance of reproduction in Judaism and Jewish culture1. Cultural as well as religious needs are satisfied by a politicosocial policy that promotes reproductive health. Within this construct, fertility treatments are fully subsidized by Israeli national health insurance and are available to all Israeli citi-zens, regardless of religion or marital status. As a result, more fertility centers per capita exist in Israel than in any other country in the world. Moreover, Israel has the world’s highest per capita rate of in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures2. Indeed, a sur-vey of 48 countries found an average of 289 assisted reproductive technologies (ART) cycles per million of population per annum, whereas the figure for Israel was 1657 ART cycles per million of population per annum3. It has been estimated that in 1998 there were about 3500 ART cycles per million of population, representing at least a 5-12-fold higher rate than that observed elsewhere (V.Insler, MD, unpublished observation, cited with permission).
