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Who's to blame for the US baby milk crisis? Not mothers who can't be bothered to breastfeed | Arwa Mahdawi
The simple answer to why the world’s richest country is suffering a nationwide infant formula shortage is corporate greed
Ah, America! The land of the free, and the home of the brave Republican politicians who want to force women to have babies but don’t want to do anything to ensure that babies are fed. The US is in the throes of a nationwide infant formula shortage. The situation is dire: two children were hospitalised in Tennessee because their parents couldn’t find the speciality formula they needed. New York City has declared a state of emergency and the US military has started flying in supplies from Europe (it’s called Operation Fly Formula).
Are the anti-abortion crowd doing everything in their power to fix the problem? Hardly. Almost 200 Republicans recently voted against a bill that would provide $28m (£22.4m) in aid to the Food and Drug Administration to ease the shortage; nine Republicans also opposed a bill to make it easier for low-income parents to get formula through a government programme. Which is all very on-brand, really. “Pro-life”, remember, means that you advocate for the unborn. Once they’re in the world and actually need things, they’re on their own. Time to pull themselves up by their tiny baby bootstraps!
Arwa Mahdawi is a Guardian columnist
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