The Average Lifespan in the U.S. is Decreasing

Nothing is closer to religion than death. The big pitch of Christianity is that death can be defeated. Then, there is the preoccupation with some branches that the death of a one fertilized egg is more important than the death of an already born human.

I think is is legitimate to gauge the sincerity of a political or religious idea by the amount of money spent on promoting it. A news release yesterday said that beginning in 2015 the average lifespan of people in the U.S. is falling. It means that about 62,000 more people a year die than before 2015.

If a branch of religion is "pro life" it seems like this problem would attract dollars and attention. But, it does not. The big dollars are still attracted to fetuses. I don't recall reading of money spent by anti abortion groups promoting better health or longer lives for those already born.

One result of this hang up over fetuses is that health care for pregnant women is less than it could be. I blogged a while back about deaths of women in child birth because the woman's vital signs were not adequately monitored.

The irony of the U.S. medical systems is that is prospers on illness, not the prevention of illnesses. There is no question that prevention of illnesses is possible and when it is done properly health care costs go down.

Then there are the preventable accidental deaths. Some 30,000 people die in automobile crashes every year. Almost all of these are preventable. The same for another 30,000 who die from accidental drug overdoses.

Our country would be better off if all the money spent promoting the myth that one's life will continue after death were spent, instead, on making human lives longer and healthier.

https://arstechnica.com/science/2018/11/another-year-another-decrease-in-life-expectancy-in-the-us/