When the 20th century began, 'everyone knew' that fully one quarter of all babies born in this country did not make it to their 5th birthday. Fevers of various kinds were thought to be the major killer
A detailed analysis by the Registrar General showed that most of the deaths actually took place close to the time of birth
At the start of the 21st century we almost automatically assume that the overwhelming majority of babies born will live at least 70 years
A pretty amazing achievement
But it makes abortion definitely murder, doesnt it?
Anti-abortionists can make confident claims about the number of people who would be alive today, had they not been aborted
But if the morality of abortion does indeed depend on such statistical calculations we should remember that there is also an unknown number of people who would never even have been conceived if their mother had not had an earlier abortion
