I was actually inspired to write this two-part series by the recent murder of Kala Golden and the abduction of her son in Spring, Texas. Although Golden had already given birth, most of these types of cases in the news involve women who are still pregnant.
The Centers for Disease Control's Pregnancy Mortality Surveillance System reported in 2005 that between 1991 and 1999, 1.7 murders of pregnant women took place for every 100,000 live births. By contrast, the 2011 Child Health USA report listed the maternal mortality rate due to medical complications of pregnancy/birth in the year 2007 at 12.7 per 100,000 live births, with an all-time low of 6.6 in 1987. Further breaking down the numbers shows that, according to these statistics, a pregnant woman is more likely to die by murder than eclampsia/pre-eclampsia, hemorrhage/placenta previa, or pregnancy with abortive outcome (rates of 1.5, 0.9, and 0.7, respectively).
Thoughts?
