Kerby Anderson

Because of the continuing advances in medicine, you would assume that each generation would be healthier than the previous generation. My grandfather was a doctor who encountered diseases that doctors in the 21^st century have never seen and only read about in textbooks.

One demographer at the University of New Hampshire noted that 24 states had more deaths than births in the year covered by the report. In the past, it was unusual for even five states to record what demographers call a natural decrease between years. The pandemic is part of the reason for these sobering statistics, but there are other factors like decreasing fertility and increased drug deaths.

In previous commentaries, I have talked about the low US birth rate. There are many reasons from abortion to lifestyle choices. Young people are getting married later, having children later, and having fewer children compared to previous generations. That is why modern industrialized countries are facing what many call a “demographic winter.”

The latest CDC report documents another decrease in life expectancy. The level is the lowest since 1996. Covid-19 was the third-leading cause of death, but drug-overdoses deaths also dragged down life expectancy. Drug fatalities involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl have increased, but so have deaths from cocaine and methamphetamine.

If you also add to these deaths, the increasing number of suicides, you see the bigger picture of what are called the “deaths of despair.” Young people are committing suicide in greater numbers than at any other time since the government began tracking the data over 50 years ago.

That is why Christians must preach the gospel and provide hope and an eternal perspective.