Thank you for the article, disturbing though it was, on the rise in maternal mortality rates in America (“U.S. maternal deaths more than doubled over two decades,” Associated Press, July 3). To gain a bit of perspective, and suggest why our mortality rates are so high, I would like to offer a few additional statistics.
According to The Commonwealth Fund, America’s maternal mortality rate is increasing and it’s already higher than that of any other developed nation. America also tops the charts with the highest rate of mortality from drug overdose, alcohol abuse and suicide, to mention just a few categories. We’re also above average in deaths from a number of other medical conditions such as respiratory disease.
But here’s one final statistic that suggests what just might be responsible for these dismal and disappointing results. We in America also top the charts in bankruptcies due to medical expenses. Other developed countries, it seems, have some form of universal socialized medicine and treat people as required or needed. We treat human suffering as a commodity to be bought and sold for a profit. Some of our fellow Americans, it seems, just can’t afford the cost and so must pay the price.
