Yesterday in this country we had people die of hunger and malnutrition. In some parts of this country, the infant mortality rate rivals that of sub-Saharan Africa. We have a public education system that ranks below that of almost any other Western nation.
I don't take things for granted, because everything feels more fragile. It's made me wonder about mortality and how long you've got somebody in the world. I'm more fearful than I used to be.
God has put within our lives meanings and possibilities that quite outrun the limits of mortality.
We've taken on the major health problems of the poorest - tuberculosis, maternal mortality, AIDS, malaria - in four countries. We've scored some victories in the sense that we've cured or treated thousands and changed the discourse about what is possible.
For me, the first fact of human existence is the human body. But if you embrace the reality of the human body, you embrace mortality, and that is a very difficult thing for anything to do because the self-conscious mind cannot imagine non-existence. It's impossible to do.
Studies have indicated there is a strong correlation between the shortages of nurses and morbidity and mortality rates in our hospitals.
I believe that every human soul is teaching something to someone nearly every minute here in mortality.
The U.S. routinely ranks lower than other countries in health outcomes such as infant mortality.
Turning 30 was when my parents both got cancer and were fighting it and beat it, but their mortality started to get to me. Everything wasn't as hunky-dory like it was.
Statistics have shown that mortality increases perceptibly in the military during wartime.