Saving the next generation — Israeli pregnancy counselling leader in SA

Visiting Cape Town this month has been inspiring and compassionate speaker Sandy Shoshanni, Director of Be’ad Chaim, (Pro-life) and mother of seven, from Jerusalem.

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Be’ad Chaim is an organisation that counsels pregnant women considering abortion, and gives aftercare whatever the outcome. It intends soon to start counselling for men affected by abortion and miscarriage too.

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Be’ad Chaim is a national organisation in Israel established by Jewish believers in Yeshua, Jesus. It is supported in South Africa by the David & Jonathan Foundation that gives practical assistance and friendship to messianic congregations and missions throughout Israel.

Like most countries in the world, Israel has a shocking abortion rate and in fact, as many children have been killed in the womb as were killed in the Holocaust. In South Africa, more than 2 500 babies are killed in the womb every month and the latest official figures reveal a worrying trend — far more girls below the age of 18 are having legal abortions than women over 18.

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Shoshanni asked “How can we be surprised at the death rate in our nation when we are passive about the murder of children in the womb?”

Coerced into abortion
Most women are coerced into abortion for economic and convenience reasons believing their circumstances are more important than the child’s life; Shoshanni noted that pro-choice organisations in most countries do not present a choice at all — women are pressured to endure abortions rather than find a way for their baby to live. Saying that there is an erroneous thinking that one needs a perfect child, Shoshanni indicated that 80% of babies recognised with problems in the womb can have medical intervention in the womb to correct them, yet this option is seldom offered.

Be’ad Chaim does not offer just words of comfort, their “Operation Moses” outreach gives women a full care package for the first year of the baby’s life, giving substantial weekly grocery packs, baby furniture (dressers, cribs and bathtubs), disposable nappies and other requirements. The fact that foster care and adoption is not an issue in Israel is testimony to the fact that most women persuaded not to have an abortion feel no need to give up their babies after birth.

Birth of Moses
Quoting Shifra and Pua, the two brave Hebrew midwives who made excuses to defy the Egyptian Pharaoh and refused to kill baby boys, she noted they were the facilitators for the birth of Moses, who led the Jewish people to Sinai and the Ten Blessings (commandments) from God’s instruction — ultimately allowing for Christians to partake in Jesus’s gift and God’s salvation plan.

She noted there is no curse for giving babies life yet there can be deep, life long anxiety and trauma after killing one’s infant in the womb. Be’ad Chaim also has a Garden of Life between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv where people in mourning can find forgiveness and healing and plant a tree in memory of their child. Abortion, and indeed miscarriage, can deeply affect not only the mother, but also husbands, siblings, grandparents and boyfriends, who in many cases might eventually be unable to have other children.

“Despise not the day of small beginnings” and “be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth” are the Lord’s will. The subject of abortion is shied away from by Christians because of its gruesome, distressing nature but there is a blood curse upon lands where this happens. Romans 12:21 says “do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good”; spiritual warfare is needed. Shoshanni called on Christians everywhere to make their voices heard, on social media and in activism, spreading love and practical help to heal the broken hearted and save those who, after all, are the next generation.

KZN talks
Shoshanni will be speaking in Durban at Gracehill Church at 10am on Sunday, May 29, and on to SABRA Life Foundation also on Sunday. On Monday she speaks at Kwasisabantu Mission near Kranskop in Zululand as a guest of Doctors’ For Life.

Be’ad Chaim receives no government funding nor fundraises but is financed by donations from caring people.