The homicide rate for U.S. infants is now virtually equal to the murder rate for teenagers, according to a new analysis of government data that revealed a surprising demographic milestone.A slow, 30-year rise in the infanticide rate, coupled with a sharp -- and more widely reported -- drop in teen homicides, means the two groups are now being murdered at almost equal rates, according to the study's director, Brett Brown, databank supervisor for Child Trends, the independent research organization that issued a report last week.
The homicide rate for Americans aged 15-19 was 9.6 per 100,000 in 2000, the same year that the rate for infants -- defined as children under the age of 1 -- peaked at a 30-year high of 9.1, twice what it was in 1970.
"Infants are the most defenseless members of our society and the most deserving of our protection. If degree of risk is going to guide our domestic ...