Waiting in Line to Become Easier for Expectant Moms

A new law passed by the Knesset allows expectant mothers to go ahead in line without waiting where public services are provided.

Proposed Joint List MK Yousef Jabareen as an amendment to the Women’s Equal Rights Act, it passed on Monday night by a vote of 48 in favor, none opposed, The Jerusalem Post reported.

The explanatory preface to the bill states: “[Expectant mothers] are sometimes forced to wait for a long time in long and exhausting lines at supermarkets, shops, pharmacies, the post office and other places which provide public service. In order to give expectant mothers the respect they deserve and to make life easier for them, it is proposed to amend the Women’s Equal Rights Act, and to determine that in a situation in which an expectant mother will ask, which will be granted the right to receive public service without waiting in line.”

However, in order to protect service providers from unscrupulous line-jumpers posing as expectant mothers, the law says they can demand to see a medical document for proof of the woman’s condition.

During the plenum discussion, Jabareen said “the idea came when I was abroad with my wife who was expecting. When we saw the long lines in public places, we thought of giving up on those places. But we were pleasantly surprised when the service providers told us that we did not have to stand in line. When we came back to Israel we noticed the difference. It is time to give women the respect they deserve.”