The Spark

the Voice of
The Communist League of Revolutionary Workers–Internationalist

“The emancipation of the working class will only be achieved by the working class itself.”
— Karl Marx

U.S. Maternal Death Rate Rising

Jan 4, 2016

Maternal death rates have been declining dramatically in most developed countries. One notable exception is right here in the United States. New research conducted by the World Health Organization has found that death rates in the U.S. increased from 12 to 14 women per 100,000 live births since 1990. This makes the U.S. rate twice as high as Canada’s and more than four times higher than Greece’s or Iceland’s. The U.S. is just one of 13 countries–including North Korea and Afghanistan–where maternal death rates are rising.

Poor people in the U.S. still don’t have access to quality health care. Countries that provide universal health care have the lowest maternal mortality rates.

So the U.S. may have the best health care in the world–but only if you can pay for it!