Hospitals across the county honor an annual ritual when they report their first new birth of the New Year. The names and photos of the baby and mother appear in newspapers and there may be a news video on television. So sweet and so innocent are these little ones.

There are never any reports concerning how the expenses of that birth are paid. You may be as shocked as I was went I stumbled across a report by the Federal government. Forty-seven percent of the births in the United States are paid for by Medicaid. Say it again with me; forty-seven percent of all births are paid for by Medicaid.

There are certainly situations in which Medicaid would need to pay.

 But, 47% of All Births?

Too many of these babies are being born with the unfair disadvantage of starting life in abject poverty. Many are born to single moms who have already been abandoned by the father of the baby. Many, perhaps most, may never be able to get out of the situation they were born into. Their opportunities were lost at birth by selfish parents who “just wanted a baby” or who took no action to prevent or postpone a pregnancy. Might this be child abuse beginning with conception?

Note: This is not an argument for or against legalized abortions. It is an argument against self-absorption and lack of judgment displayed by too many adults. Consider the rights of the baby.