Maternal Deaths Decline
Worldwide
Part Four of Four
Editor's note. The following
comes from Minnesota Citizens
Concerned for Life Global
Outreach found at
www.mccl.org.
A new study, published by the
British medical journal The
Lancet and reported on in the
New York Times, shows a dramatic
decline in maternal deaths
worldwide. The Lancet reports
526,300 maternal deaths
worldwide in 1980 and 342,900
deaths in 2008, a reduction of
35 percent. A total of 60,000 of
the 2008 deaths were pregnant
women in eastern Africa who died
from AIDS.
"This
new study is further proof that
it is clean water, clean blood
and adequate access to health
care--not abortion on
demand--that will help pregnant
women and their babies
globally," stated Scott
Fischbach, Executive Director of
MCCL Global Outreach (MCCL GO).
The New York Times article
quotes Dr. Richard Horton
[editor of The Lancet], who
states that he received pressure
from maternal mortality advocacy
groups not to release the new
findings.
"For years the advocates of
abortion have used the maternal
mortality issue to overthrow
pro-life laws in country after
country," Fischbach continued.
"Without the maternal mortality
argument, another gaping hole
exists in their push for
abortion on demand."
The solution to illegal
abortions and high maternal
mortality rates is very simple:
provide hope, opportunity and
support for pregnant women by
ensuring a clean water supply,
clean blood supply and adequate
health care. Statistics confirm
that these save women's lives --
not the legalization of
abortion.
Ireland, a country with pro-life
laws in place, has the lowest
maternal mortality rate in the
world, and Nepal, a country with
abortion on demand, has one of
the highest maternal mortality
rates at 830 deaths per 100,000
live births. According to the
new study, maternal mortality
increased in the United States
by 42 percent from 1980 to 2008.
Abortion was legal in the U.S.
throughout all nine months of
pregnancy during this 28-year
period.
This new report comes from the
University of Washington and the
University of Queensland in
Brisbane, Australia, and was
paid for by the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation.
MCCL GO is a pro-life global
outreach program of the
Minnesota Citizens Concerned for
Life Education Fund with one
goal: to save as many innocent
lives as possible from the
destruction of abortion. Learn
more at
www.mccl.org.
Please visit our newest blog
www.nationalrighttolifenew.org
and send your comments to me at
daveandrusko@gmail.com.
Part One
Part Two
Part Three |