Combating Terrorism: In Search of a National Strategy: Hearing Before the Subcommittee on National Security, Veterans Affairs

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can usually download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1852 edition. Excerpt: ... a Weightier reason, since the causes of mortality among children of tender age are, in a multitude of cases, to be found only by extending our inquiries to their intrauterine life, and the physiological state of the parents, but especially the sanitary condition of the mothers, their hygienic and moral habits, and circumstances. Nothing can be more certain than that the viability of the infant after birth, and its tenacity of life, depend very greatly upon the condition, circumstances, habits and health of the parents, particularly those of the mothers, during every period of pregnancy. And hence pathological and demoralizing agencies, operating upon parents in reproduction and during utero-gest-ation, are often the sources of premature birth and still-born cases, but not less the cause of early death in their offspring after birth, and resulting in a vast proportion of the infant mortality so sadly and universally deplored. These considerations may suttice to justify our plea for including the still-born interments among the victims of infant mortality. Among the causes assigned for this prevalence of abortive and premature birth are enumerated hereditary diseases, morbid agencies on the mind and body of the mother, and inci dental or accidental events occurring during pregnancy and parturition; but reasons are given for believing that any one of these, or all of them together, are insufficient to account for the facts statistically detailed, and the reporter has recourse to the prevalence of artificial abortion as the chief agency at Work to produce the appalling result: Without entering into any unnecessary detail upon this delicate and ungracious topic, it may suffice to allude only to the ghastly...