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The Health Ministry has decided to subsidize a variety of genetic tests for pregnant women in Israel. The new initiative will enable women with high-risk pregnancies to undergo free advanced genetic testing designed for the prenatal diagnosis of genetic abnormalities.

Until now, many genetic tests were only available through private medical centers, at a cost of thousands of shekels.

The purpose of the ministry's new initiative is to set a clear procedure for those looking to undergo the advanced tests and to determine who is eligible for the testing, said Joel Zlotogora, who heads the Health Ministry's community genetics department.

Professor Avi Orr-Urtreger, Director of the Genetic Institute in Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center said that the new initiative is relevant to many children whose parents could not afford to undergo the expensive testing.

Once the new initiative is finalized, parents who are at a higher risk of carrying genetic diseases will be able to undergo the advanced testing prior to the child's birth, thus enabling them to receive a prenatal diagnosis of genetic abnormalities.

One of the additional...