Considering infant mortality rates

October 14, 11:12 PMCareers and Family ExaminerJen Boyer

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October 15 is Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day.

Unfortunately, the United States does not lead the pack in terms of minimizing infant mortality. Following is the list of countries with better rates of infant mortality (fewer babies dying per 1000 births) than we have. (Source: CIA World Factbook, 2008 estimated data.) Countries with universal health care are in red. There are some small countries on the list for which I could not find clear data (that I could understand, at least) about the type of health care system offered to their citizens. It doesn't matter, though. This measure, at least, weighs overwhelmingly in favor of universal health care. I left the countries I wasn't sure about in black. There's all the little countries I wasn't sure about... and the U.S.

Absolutely, universal health plans have problems too. But if universal health care lowers infant mortality as effectively as this comparison shows, I think it's time we looked at it more closely.