Babies die because their parents are poor.
This should be the shame of our nation. Economic discrimination for the unborn. Where are the "pro-life" people on this one? Is it "god's will" that we have an unequal healthcare system?
And, reading this, I found myself thinking back to the WaPo piece 4 days ago,
You cannot base public policy on "faith" in contravention of reality. People are dying. It's time to grow up.
(Oh, and the Republicans' healthcare concern yesterday?
AND, it gets worse. Today, the Republicans are trying to get a measure through that would allow a loophole through which businesses could bypass state regulations on healthcare. This graphic from the AP shows by state how many people would be affected.
CHICAGO - America may be the world's superpower, but its survival rate for newborn babies ranks near the bottom among modern nations, better only than Latvia.
Among 33 industrialized nations, the United States is tied with Hungary, Malta, Poland and Slovakia with a death rate of nearly 5 per 1,000 babies, according to a new report. Latvia's rate is 6 per 1,000.....
The U.S. ranking is driven partly by racial and income health care disparities. Among U.S. blacks, there are 9 deaths per 1,000 live births, closer to rates in developing nations than to those in the industrialized world.
And, reading this, I found myself thinking back to the WaPo piece 4 days ago,
Poor women in America are increasingly likely to have unwanted pregnancies, whereas relatively affluent women are succeeding more and more in getting pregnant only when they want to, according to a study analyzing federal statistics.....
Asked what was driving the trends, the authors noted that some state and federal reproductive health programs have been cut or made more restrictive in recent years. State and federal programs have increasingly focused on abstinence rather than contraception, and some analysts have argued that the shift is leading to less use of contraceptives and more unintended pregnancies.
You cannot base public policy on "faith" in contravention of reality. People are dying. It's time to grow up.
(Oh, and the Republicans' healthcare concern yesterday?
The Senate on Monday once again rebuffed a Republican effort to limit jury awards in medical malpractice cases, taking the issue — a high priority for both President Bush and the majority leader, Senator Bill Frist — off the agenda for this year....
Mr. Frist knew going into the debate that the measures were likely to be blocked but wanted to put Democrats on record before the midterm elections in November. After the votes, he issued a news release headlined "Frist Denounces Democrat Obstruction of Medical Liability Reform.")
AND, it gets worse. Today, the Republicans are trying to get a measure through that would allow a loophole through which businesses could bypass state regulations on healthcare. This graphic from the AP shows by state how many people would be affected.
posted by mikevotes at
11:19 AM
6 Comments:
Mike, i found myself writing a blog instead of a comment. Very thought provoking piece. I shall rspond in my own space. Thanks
By
Cartledge, at 11:06 AM
Cool, I'll visit after my lunch. I was aiming for thought provoking here, I think you're telling me I hit it.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 11:11 AM
This falls into the category of:
"U.S. Healthcare, worst in the developed world and the most expensive".
By
Greyhair, at 11:30 AM
In total, healthcare is near the bottom, but at the top end, the US leads the world. I mean, if you've got the money, the US healtcare system is phenomenal, foreign leaders and dignitaries and the world's wealthiest all come here for their serious medical work.
Hell, even athletes travel to the US to get their ACL's worked on if it's complicated surgery.
The problem is, that system is beyond the reach of almost anyone else.
I think it falls in the category of "how can the richest nation in the history of the earth let percentages of its population go hungry."
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 1:05 PM
Interesting fact: Infant mortality is a statistic that is widely used as an indicator.
An indicator for what, you ask? Inequality.
It's a way to discriminate between countries that have similar macroeconomic profiles, but widely disparate internal distribution. So two countries that both have a GDP per capita of $7,000 might look similar, but if one has high infant mortality and the other doesn't, it shows that the former has heavy wealth concentration, and the latter is more egalitarian.
Another interesting (!) datum, that Washington DC routinely has the both the highest infant mortality and highest income inequality figures for the US.
By
Anonymous, at 10:12 PM
Well, said. I knew that infant mortality was used as a primary indicator of healthcare quality, but I wasn't aware of it's use for measuring inequality.
And, as to the last point, I'm not surprised Wash DC is an extreme point. My uncle has lived in Washington for 30 years, and I've seen it.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 7:16 AM
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