s2a
Heretic and part-time (skinny) Santa impersonator
I know well enough that self described pro-life/anti-choice objections to available, safe and legal abortion services are unlikely to be swayed by some of the information provided below
as in nearly all instances the strident objections/arguments are rooted in individualized moral/religious foundations, which tend to be the most difficult to alter or persuade towards a changing or evolving perspective.
So to be clear (at least on my part), the commentary that follows is presented strictly for further thought and perhaps a wee bit of enlightenment for those that believe it a moral duty and obligation to promote life over preventable death, most especially as it pertains to national policy and enforceable laws. If the objective is to promote and sustain life over preventable death, please consider
Pregnancy related deaths:
In the United States, the maternal mortality rate (pregnancy related deaths) stands at 24 deaths per 100,000 women. That fact places the USA 50th (ie., 49 other nations have a lower rate) amongst all nations. source
Many, if not most of the nations ahead of the US on that list have some form of universal health care, and most that do not (primarily third world nations in Africa and Latin/South America) fare worse, but more on that in a bit .
The infant mortality rate places the U.S. 36th in the world, with 6.06 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (or, 606 infant deaths per 100,000 live births). Again, universal access to affordable/free heath care (not the best in the world, just widely available and affordable) and mortality rates of delivered infants draws direct correlation comparisons. source
Abortion related maternal deaths
Abortion-related deaths in the U.S. is currently 0.9 deaths per 100,00 women.
Abortion is still legal and available in all 50 states, though limitations placed on available access and providers are growing.
Countries where abortion is illegal have a death rate 350 times this rate, or appx. 315 deaths per 100,000 women.
(Guttmacher Institute)
It should also be noted that the lowest rates of preventable deaths of both pregnancy and abortion (with yet lower rates of pregnancy, intended or not), are found in the nations with both free access to contraception and readily accessible, legal abortion.
[Just to lend a bit of commentary amidst the facts, lets again recall that every pregnant woman is someones sister, mother, daughter, wife, aunt, grandchild, or best friend. Living, breathing people with personalities, hopes, dreams, and lives that deserve the very best heath care and protections any society should strive to provide and preserve, first and foremost.]
The Affordable Care Act aka Obamabcare
What some may or may not know, the ACA mandates that all insurance companies provide no-cost maternal care visits both during pregnancy, and after delivery. Some are in effect now, the rest follow in 2014. The ACA also mandates availability of other screening and preventative care/wellness heath care visits (exclusive to womens heath care concerns) as being no-cost and accessable to all women. Many might say that is a pro-life position of policy. Source
As is already (controversially?) well known, family planning and contraceptive access/costs are presently available and provided by parts of the currently enacted Obamacare today.
All I will follow with is noting that effective contraception use serves to reduce not only unintended pregnancies, but also prevents virtually all preventable deaths due to pregnancy, infant mortality, and abortion related deaths.
There are two things we may glean from this brief presentation of facts
Where abortions and contraceptives are freely available and legal, and heath care is both affordable and available to all the incidences of preventable deaths amongst all women is dramatically reduced.
When laws are enacted to prohibit or restrict access to reproductive rights and heath, more pregnant women (and their delivered children) die. When healthcare costs or access to screenings/wellness/pre-natal care is prohibitively expensive more women die of otherwise preventable causes.
Not hyperbole, just statistical fact.
So, what does it mean to you to be pro-life, and what measure of moral obligations and religious teachings/dogma are to be satisfied or realized further in either minimizing or expanding preventable deaths of women in the US, and worldwide?
Is it pro-life to abjectly repeal the Affordable Care Act? Is it pro-life to prevent/inhibit women legal and broad access to affordable contraception and pre-natal health care access/benefits?
What would constitute policies that promote both womens heath concerns and preventable death?
[Note: I ask that any respondents address the OP as premised, and not engage in yet another fruitless exchange of morality/religion arguments of killing innocent babies. There are no advocates of abortion. No one favors abortion as an ideal, or favored outcome of unintended pregnancy. NO ONE. But as sure as the sun rises in the East, human beings will have sex, as often as possible. The question is, will we/do we value life over preventable death in the 50% of the population that can become pregnant, or do we not?]
So to be clear (at least on my part), the commentary that follows is presented strictly for further thought and perhaps a wee bit of enlightenment for those that believe it a moral duty and obligation to promote life over preventable death, most especially as it pertains to national policy and enforceable laws. If the objective is to promote and sustain life over preventable death, please consider
Pregnancy related deaths:
In the United States, the maternal mortality rate (pregnancy related deaths) stands at 24 deaths per 100,000 women. That fact places the USA 50th (ie., 49 other nations have a lower rate) amongst all nations. source
Many, if not most of the nations ahead of the US on that list have some form of universal health care, and most that do not (primarily third world nations in Africa and Latin/South America) fare worse, but more on that in a bit .
The infant mortality rate places the U.S. 36th in the world, with 6.06 infant deaths per 1,000 live births (or, 606 infant deaths per 100,000 live births). Again, universal access to affordable/free heath care (not the best in the world, just widely available and affordable) and mortality rates of delivered infants draws direct correlation comparisons. source
Abortion related maternal deaths
Abortion-related deaths in the U.S. is currently 0.9 deaths per 100,00 women.
Abortion is still legal and available in all 50 states, though limitations placed on available access and providers are growing.
Countries where abortion is illegal have a death rate 350 times this rate, or appx. 315 deaths per 100,000 women.
(Guttmacher Institute)
It should also be noted that the lowest rates of preventable deaths of both pregnancy and abortion (with yet lower rates of pregnancy, intended or not), are found in the nations with both free access to contraception and readily accessible, legal abortion.
[Just to lend a bit of commentary amidst the facts, lets again recall that every pregnant woman is someones sister, mother, daughter, wife, aunt, grandchild, or best friend. Living, breathing people with personalities, hopes, dreams, and lives that deserve the very best heath care and protections any society should strive to provide and preserve, first and foremost.]
The Affordable Care Act aka Obamabcare
What some may or may not know, the ACA mandates that all insurance companies provide no-cost maternal care visits both during pregnancy, and after delivery. Some are in effect now, the rest follow in 2014. The ACA also mandates availability of other screening and preventative care/wellness heath care visits (exclusive to womens heath care concerns) as being no-cost and accessable to all women. Many might say that is a pro-life position of policy. Source
As is already (controversially?) well known, family planning and contraceptive access/costs are presently available and provided by parts of the currently enacted Obamacare today.
All I will follow with is noting that effective contraception use serves to reduce not only unintended pregnancies, but also prevents virtually all preventable deaths due to pregnancy, infant mortality, and abortion related deaths.
There are two things we may glean from this brief presentation of facts
Where abortions and contraceptives are freely available and legal, and heath care is both affordable and available to all the incidences of preventable deaths amongst all women is dramatically reduced.
When laws are enacted to prohibit or restrict access to reproductive rights and heath, more pregnant women (and their delivered children) die. When healthcare costs or access to screenings/wellness/pre-natal care is prohibitively expensive more women die of otherwise preventable causes.
Not hyperbole, just statistical fact.
So, what does it mean to you to be pro-life, and what measure of moral obligations and religious teachings/dogma are to be satisfied or realized further in either minimizing or expanding preventable deaths of women in the US, and worldwide?
Is it pro-life to abjectly repeal the Affordable Care Act? Is it pro-life to prevent/inhibit women legal and broad access to affordable contraception and pre-natal health care access/benefits?
What would constitute policies that promote both womens heath concerns and preventable death?
[Note: I ask that any respondents address the OP as premised, and not engage in yet another fruitless exchange of morality/religion arguments of killing innocent babies. There are no advocates of abortion. No one favors abortion as an ideal, or favored outcome of unintended pregnancy. NO ONE. But as sure as the sun rises in the East, human beings will have sex, as often as possible. The question is, will we/do we value life over preventable death in the 50% of the population that can become pregnant, or do we not?]
