A cherished statistic among advocates of socialized medicine involves the allegedly high rate of infant mortality in this country, which they offer as proof that government-run healthcare must be imposed on the entire population. It turns out that, like popular myths about the uninsured, there is less here than meets the eye. The Economist weblog points out a Slate article in which these oft-quoted infant mortality statistics are questioned:
A closer look [at the statistics] reveals … infant mortality in the United States principally as a problem of premature birth … more affordable medical care actually has worsened the rate of prematurity, and likely the rate of infant mortality, by making fertility treatment widespread …
And, lo and behold, if one removes premature births from the statistical mix—as any responsible statistician would do with an outlier of this kind—the infant mortality rate for the
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