In the context of more than 730,000 new arrivals in the UK in 2018, a dip of 10,000 babies doesn’t sound like much. But based on average life expectancy of 81 years, and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence’s estimated value of £30,000 per ‘quality adjusted life year’ that already takes us to £24bn, or more than 1pc of the UK’s pre-Covid gross domestic product.
A Qaly is not the GDP associated with the life year, it’s the subjective benefit of the life year. Entirely different things.
Well yes, Timmy. But given a QALY is roughly equal to median income maybe you’re being a bit pendantic.
OK Tim. So that’s a £24billion subjective loss of quality life to the UK. That’s an interesting way of looking at the human costs of abortion.
Talking of Covid-19 and babies, the number of preterm births plummeted by 90% during the first lockdown. That’s quite incredible. Not many people talking about it, even though the health of babies ought to be of primary concern to a decent society.
https://www.rcm.org.uk/news-views/rcm-opinion/2020/a-reduction-in-premature-births-during-covid-19/
@Andrew M: that’s an interesting one. Were just as many births happening in hospital, I wonder; could the mothers have preferred to give birth at home?