March of Dimes Coverup of Abortion / Preemie Link is the Real Mystery

Springfield, IL (Feb. 11, 2003) March of Dimes has announced a major fund raising effort to understand and battle premature deliveries. March of Dimes medical director, Dr. Nancy Green, told Time magazine that the 27% rise in premature births over the last few decades “is a mystery.”

Dr. Green’s claim that the rise in premature birth rates is a mystery reflects either a distressing ignorance of the medical literature or a calculated case of selective recall.

At least 48 published studies have shown significantly higher risk of premature birth and low birth weight deliveries among women with a history of abortion.(1-48) One of the best, a Danish record based study(1), found the risk doubled after just one abortion. Multiple abortions increase the risk even more. A doubling of risk among an estimated one-fourth of delivering women who have a prior history of abortion would result in a 25% rise overall.

The only real mystery surrounding the 27% rise in premature delivery rates among the post-Roe generation of women is why March of Dimes has failed to call attention to this major risk factor. Their fact sheets downplay the risk of abortion, stating only that women are at higher risk of premature delivery if they “have had more than three abortions or miscarriages.” Other risk factors, drinking, smoking, and drug use are also elevated by a history of abortion.

March of Dimes claims that its position on abortion is one of neutrality. This is a good position to be in if one is trying to gather in donations from as large an audience as possible. But the fact that March of Dimes encourages prenatal screening for birth defects that can only be “treated” by abortion does not support the claim that they are neutral. Instead, it supports the view that they are encouraging eugenic targeting of “unfit” children that do not “deserve to be born.” Their refusal to aggressively educate the public about the role abortion plays in heightening the risk posed to subsequent pregnancies is another sign that their claim of neutrality is a just a veneer over a pro-abortion, eugenic-minded “charity.”

According to March of Dimes, “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 newborn stay.” Treatment of these children through employer health plans is estimated to by $4.7 billion per year. One fifth of these costs may be is attributable to extra cases of prematurity arising from abortion related morbidity.

Premature birth is the leading cause of neonatal death and is related to increased risk of cerebral palsy, vision and hearing loss, retardation and other lifelong health problems.

You can register your complaints about the March of Dimes coverup of the abortion link to premature births by calling 1-888- MODIMES.