Carol Marak’s article on isolated seniors (Urbana Daily Citizen, June 14, p. 4) covers most of the questions about the sources of their loneliness (social inactivity, lack of transportation and money, failure to build new relationships), but not all. One revealing answer was “most of my real friends moved to be with children and grandchildren … I have lost track of schoolmates, work buddies, former neighbors, and extended family.” This respondent also said, “My only family is one son who lives in another city, and I rarely hear from him or his children.” Obviously, old age and infirmity are the conditions to which the younger family should readily respond, However, younger families are becoming rarer, as new data from the Centers for Disease Control reveal: “For the fourth year in a row the number of children born in the United States has fallen. Last year, 3,788,235 babies were born in the U.S. — a drop of 2 percent from the previous year, and the lowest number in 32 years. Behind the drop in total births, however, is an even more dramatic and troubling statistic. The overall fertility rate (i.e., the number of children born per woman) has fallen to its lowest rate ever, at just 1.72. As a general rule, for a population to replace itself, the average birth rate needs to be 2.1 children born per woman” (Shenan Boquet, Human Life International.org, May 27, 2019).

So the problem of isolated seniors is going to get worse before it gets better. We at Champaign County Right to Life encourage pregnancies and births and can recommend related organizations which help materially with these important events in human lives. We especially invite those in middle age and aging toward retirement to get in touch with us ([email protected] or 937 653-6745). Every inquiry is treated with complete confidence, especially those who call us to help head off an abortion in their younger family.

Sincerely yours

David George & members

Champaign Counthy Right to Life