Where is the Justice?

I'm sure I will catch some heat for this post and I'm ok with that. Unless you are living under a rock, I'm sure you've caught some news on the big murder trial taking place here  in Florida. The trial is taking place 45 minutes from our home and we, like all Americans, have been inundated with news surrounding this trial.  Last night the jury came back with their verdict and the news erupted again. Everyone is talking about this case, it's all over the news, everyone on Facebook has an opinion, celebrities and leaders are expressing their views. I'm not writing this post to discuss the details surrounding this case or give my opinion. I'm writing to express my disgust with our nation. 

I spent the day yesterday at a fundraiser for a local group that supports families of loss with care packs. The leader of this group carried her son to term knowing he would pass soon after birth due to a medical condition. This event was full of families like mine whose lives are forever changed by the loss of their perfect, innocent babies. It was great to see so many supporting a worthwhile cause and heartbreaking to see the many faces of loss including young children missing their siblings.  I left the event with a renewed sense of purpose; more needs to be done in support of our families. 

This evening we were then flooded with the news of this trial. People are protesting, calling for change by politicians, getting angry and upset over this case. And I sit here thinking how wrong it seems that so much focus is on ONE case when there are THOUSANDS of babies dying every year without a true explanation. Where is the anger and outrage over this? Where is the nationwide call for change? Where us the justice for these babies and their families?

The news media focuses on so much negative; a robbery, a shooting a crash yet in the United States there are 26,000 stillbirths, 600,000 miscarriages and 4,500 sudden unexplained infant deaths annually. 

These statistics are outrageous yet how often do you see stories on the news about pregnancy or infant loss? How often do you hear celebrities tweeting about it? How often do your friends post on Facebook about it?

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just being sensitive but to maybe if more people cried out in anger at these statistics the government, our leaders, the medical world, our nation as a whole would spend more time and energy working on ways to reduce these numbers. After all, these aren't just statistics, these are our children who will forever be missing from our families. 

I'll get off my soapbox. Again, I do not write this to be insensitive to those directly involved in this case. I do not write this to express my views on the case but rather to point out yet again that 1:4 pregnancies end in loss and are swept under the rug. I really hope that we can see changes occur surrounding loss, more support given to families if loss and medically improvements and cures are found. Let's break the taboo and work to find ways to truly prevent SIDS, miscarriages, stillbirths and other causes of infant loss.