Image by haaretz

A Knesset study prompted by news reports about the administration of contraceptive injections to Ethiopian immigrant women before and after their arrival in Israel shows that these women gave birth to significantly fewer children in Israel than their peers who came to Israel in the 1990’s, before the practice became widespread.

But the authors of the study, which was commissioned from the Knesset Research and Information Center by MK Orly Levi-Abekasis ‏(Likud-Yisrael Beiteinu‏), said they could not substantiate a report by Gal Gabbai on Educational Television last year that claimed that women in immigrant transit camps in Ethiopia were given the contraceptive, Depo-Provera, against their will and were told that if they refused to receive the injections they would be denied the right to immigrate to Israel.

Depo-Provera provides effective contraceptive protection over a period of months to women who take the injection. It has the advantage that it does not require the women to take a daily pill and its effects are reversible.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis of the crisis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

It appears to have become the preferred means of birth control among Ethiopian immigrants to Israel − birth control pills are more widely used by women in Israel in general − but in addition it appears to have driven down the number of children born to immigrants from Ethiopia to levels below the average family size of the general population of Israeli-born mothers.

For more go to Haaretz

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount