In a small crowded office in the Kiryat Moshe neighborhood of Jerusalem, sits one of the greatest modern day miracles of Israel. The EFRAT-CRIB organization and its affiliate, Save a Jewish Baby (SAJB), is responsible for saving the lives of over 57,000 Israelis to date. The organization is beginning to reach out around the world and is trying to duplicate its operating model worldwide.

“I wish we were as successful here in the United States as you are in Jerusalem,” said Senator J. Bunning to Dr. Eli Schussheim, the founder of EFRAT and SAJB, on one of his recent trips to the United States. “What you are doing is simply incredible,” he continued.

Dr. Schussheim recently returned from a whirlwind trip to Washington D.C. where he met with 10 U.S. Representatives and Senators in a single day. They were Rep. Paul Brown (R-GA), Rep. John Fleming (R-LA), Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-MO), Rep. Joseph R. Pitts (R-PA), Rep.Randy Weber (R-TX), Sen. Deb Fisher (R-NB), Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), Sen. Joe Manchin (D-VA), and Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH).

The goal of the trip, as Dr. Schussheim explained to Breaking Israel News, was to present the model of how EFRAT works. He hopes that U.S. lawmakers will be able to connect the relevant organizations in the U.S. with EFRAT to learn from his model organization which has achieved so much success in Israel.

“The reception we got was one of overwhelming acceptance and open arms,” Schussheim said. “Everyone wanted to hear what we had to say and were extremely pleased with the result.”

Schussheim describes his organizations model as “real pro-choice.”

“We never pressure anyone. We do not protest or make laws concerning a woman’s choice. For it is just that the woman’s choice. What we do is make them an offer of support and then let them decide,” he said.

The model that EFRAT and SAJB operates on is simple. First, one must realize that the largest calamity affecting the human race today is not tsunamis, heart disease, cancer, terrorism, or car accidents – but abortions. Over 1.4 million abortions take place in the United States every year which averages to more than 4,000 a day. Across the world that number grows to hundreds of millions each year.

Dr. Schussheim said “We at EFRAT and SAJB have found that most women do not want to have an abortion but often they are forced into it by financial concerns or outside pressure from their husbands or families due to financial concerns. If we can remove the financial concerns then the women will most often want to have the baby. Over 80% of abortions happen for this reason. We can therefore alleviate 80% of abortions with the right system.”

EFRAT and SAJB comes to the rescue of these women with their network of over 3,000 volunteers nationwide. Ruti Tidhar, the chief social worker at EFRAT/SAJB, explained to Breaking Israel News the more in depth nuances of the overall process that is saving the lives of unborn children.

“People call here asking for help and we connect them with one of our volunteers. The volunteers give a willing ear and soft shoulder to help her through this difficult time when the woman is deliberating what to do,” Tidhar explained.

“This often is the most stressful time of a woman’s life. We make the offer of providing whatever she needs for her newborn for up to two years should she decide to continue with the pregnancy. It is always the woman’s decision.  We are not there to change anyones mind or pressure in any way. From the beginning to the end it is her decision. She at the end of the day will be the one who must raise the child. We are there to give help and give her our experience,” she said.

The volunteers themselves are often women who were helped previously by EFRAT/SAJB and are incredibly thankful to the organization for having helped them to make the decision not to have an abortion. They feel that as a way of giving back, they volunteer and help other women who is in a similar situation as to the one they were in.

EFRAT/SAJB does not get involved in the political aspects when it comes to the issue of abortion. The organization says it has no protestors or lobbyists trying to influence the Israeli government to take a stance one way or another. Dr. Schussheim said that the goal is simply the wish to help each and every mother who is going through a tough time to make the best decision for her and her family, as well as soon to be child.

By removing the financial pressure off of the mother,  she is now given the opportunity to make a true “choice” as to whether or not to keep her baby. With this pressure removed, the mother can often convince her husband, her family or even herself that with the help of EFRAT/SAJB, she and her new child will be okay.

“I talk to people when they are in the most painful times of their lives, and they can’t see the end of the tunnel,” Tidhar said. “We’re here to give them that light at the end of the tunnel and make them able to see that they have a real choice. They do not have to abort their child if they do not want to. It is quite a responsibility, and I am so thankful to be working here at EFRAT/SAJB. I am probably the social worker with the most job satisfaction in the world,” said Tidhar.

Tidhar’s excitement and exuberance showed through as she took me on a tour of the facility and the nearby warehouse.  The warehouse is where all of the items needed to care for an infant are sorted and packaged into shipments before going out to the over 3,500 families that are in need of them each month. Everything from cribs, blankets and mobiles to cloth and regular diapers, pacifiers as well as hairbrushes and toys are included in these packages, not to mention food.

“If a family needs kosher for Passover food and matzah, then that is what they get. Everyone gets the help they need here,” said Tidhar. As we walked through room after room of the parking garage-converted-warehouse, Tidhar pointed out the different shipments sorted by gender and age for each child.

Tidhar explained that the only way in which the organization can afford to help as many people as they do is to keep the operating costs extremely low.

“We work very hard to make sure that almost all the money from every donation goes directly towards helping the families and the children who need it. Otherwise we would not be able to do as much as we do. It is one of the founding principals of the organization. It is the reason we have small and cramped office space, because that is what was donated,” Tidhar said,  referencing why the office space we met in is so cramped in the double apartment headquarters in Kiryat Moshe.

“The bottom line of our experience is simple. Of all the 57,000 women who have been through our system and decided to continue to their pregnancy, not one of them is sorry that she didn’t have the abortion,” Tidhar explained. “On the other hand, there are hundreds or even thousands of women who we’ve spoken to that did regret having an abortion after the fact.”

So how come EFRAT/SAJB is so effective? Dr. Schussheim says the answer is simple: “We can solve the biggest issue that causes abortions – financial pressure. Once we do that and we give the mothers a true choice, then we can guarantee that not a single woman who chooses to continue her pregnancy and receive help from EFRAT/SAJB has ever regretted having her child. Not one. We have a 100% success rate. No other part of the medical field can boast that their patients will not regret their decisions to go through with a procedure or not. We can.”

In a display of confidence mixed with a moral obligation, Dr. Schussheim said that he is prepared to publicize everywhere that he will guarantee the secrecy and satisfaction of anyone who comes to EFRAT/SAJB for help. Not only will the pregnant women receive the help they need, but that if the stay the course and hold off on the abortion, then they will be happy with their choice.