Ann Arbor toxicologist: Study shows high rate of Fallujah birth defects, raises questions about whether U.S. war in Iraq is to blame

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Is the U.S. war in Iraq behind an increase of severe birth defects in Fallujah?

That's the question raised by new research co-authored by an Ann Arbor resident and published in the International Journal of Environmental Health.

“Lots of babies are dying in Fallujah,” said environmental toxicologist Mozhgan Savabieasfahani. “Those who don’t die have a grim future. Their parents aren’t able to care about them.”

The study authors theorize that military assaults in Fallujah left a toxic footprint that could be continuing to harm families there, especially pregnant mothers and their babies, some of whom are being born with severe deformities and other problems.

Savabieasfahani, author of the 2009 book “Pollution and Reproductive Damage,” joined the international research team working on the study after she saw Fallujah General Hospital doctor Samir Allani on BBC news reports about the birth defects. Allani was interviewed by the BBC about birth defects and cancer in the Iraqi city following heavy U.S. assaults in 2004 aimed at stamping out out an insurgency.

The latest study, funded by The Kuala Lumpur Foundation to Criminalize War, focuses on birth defects observed at the hospital since 2003. International media outlets, including the BBC World and others, have published reports on the Ann Arbor resident’s research since the journal published the paper Dec. 31.

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