Dead Baby Update

Just over two years ago, I posted an article on this blog about the infant mortality rate in the United States.

It came back into my mind because of the election and because of a new report out this month.

Every time we have an election, the Republican party trot out the issue of abortion specifically to rouse their base, and the talk turns to killing babies. Extremists even talk about how Obama wants to 'kill babies' because of his pro-choice stance. Or some intellectually dishonest argument about votes he's made as a politician.

Then you have the likes of Sarah Palin who believe that abortion should be illegal even in cases of rape and incest. A woman who went on record the other day as stating that people who bomb abortion clinics are not 'technically' terrorists.

But what I'd like to know is why Americas are ignoring the real issue: infant mortality.

In the recent CDC report it was discovered that America, the richest and most powerful nation on the planet, is 29th in the world for infant mortality figures!

28,000 babies die each year in America before their first birthday.

That's about 7 in 1000. And if you are African American, sorry, but that figure is more than double, at a staggering 13.63 per 1,000. Which is up from the last time I reported on this issue.

We are currently in the company of such countries as, Slovakia, Poland, and Hungry. We are getting beaten by Cuba, New Zealand, Israel and Canada.

And we are being blown out of the water by top countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan, Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, Britain and Italy.

It's time that as a nation we woke up to the fact that our health care system is broken. 47,000,000 Americans are without proper coverage. Millions more are simply unable to afford health care costs even with with insurance.

And the trends are scary too. By 2012 if things continue the way they are going the per capita cost of health care will reach $10,000 in America. More than any other country in the world. Yet by then an estimated 54 million people will be uninsured. Businesses costs will rise by 55%.

The issue of broken health care and infant mortality rates is one of the most important issues facing America today.

If we can fix the health care system it is good for everyone. And the only candidate in this election who is trying to do that is Barack Obama. He wants to take steps to stop insurance companies ripping people off. He wants to make health care less of a luxury and more of a right. I don't think his ideas go far enough, but in America we have to take it slow.

Oddly, despite our horrible infant mortality figures, our bad longevity, and our preventable death statistics, many Americans still don't get it. They have seemingly been brainwashed into distrusting any intervention to fix the current broken health care system. And I think this brainwashing has been a clever con trick perpetrated the corporations that make billions from the sick and suffering each year. They love the way things are: Lots of money and very little regulation.

Perhaps once President Obama begins to reform the health care system, to make health care a right and not a privilege of the rich, Americans will finally begin to accept that the 28 countries in the world who are kicking our ass in health care do it cheaper than we do, and save more lives.

So for all the talk about 'pro-life' issues in this election; the reality is very clear. Barack Obama is the pro-life candidate here. He is trying to reach out to ordinary Americans and protect their lives and the lives of their babies.

Let's keep that in mind on election day.