According to the March of Dimes, "In 2001, more than 476,000 babies, or nearly 12 percent of live births, were born too soon – before 37 completed weeks – in the U.S.
“The annual rate of babies born prematurely has risen 27 percent since 1981… In 2000, hospital charges for 23,000 prematurity-related infant stays totaled $1.2 Billion. The average charge was $58,000 per baby, compared to $4,300 for a typical [term] newborn stay."1
[¹ Derived from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample for 2000, a component of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project. The diagnosis code includes short gestation and low birthweight]
Treatment of these children through employer health plans has been estimated at $4.7 Billion per year.
One fifth of these costs may be attributable to extra cases of prematurity arising from abortion-related morbidity.
premature birth is the leading cause of newnatal death and is related to increased risk of cerebral palsy, vision and hearing loss, retardation, and other life-long health problems.
For the list of 60 medical studies showing abortion's link to premature birth and low birth rate deliveries, visit http://www.vcn.bc.ca/~whatsup/APB-Major.html
[http://www.marchofdimes.com/aboutus/791_6775.asp]