Pro-Life author George Grant did a great deal of research for his book on Planned Parenthood entitled “Grand Illusions: The Legacy of Planned Parenthood.” He tells the story of a young African American woman who was pressured by Planned Parenthood to agree to be sterilized. This recalls the eugenic beliefs of Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger.
A mother of four on welfare describes how Planned Parenthood refused to provide her with any medical services, unless she agreed to a sterilization:
Lydia Jones, a title X and Medicaid eligible welfare mother of 4, went to the Planned Parenthood clinic near her home and discovered that “free” government programs could be a good news /bad news proposition.
“They told me that if I wanted to take advantage of their medical services I would have to undergo sterilization,” she said. “The counselor just kept lecturing me about how I needed to do this, and that I should’ve done it a long time ago. She told me that my children were a burden to society. Well, let me tell you, I love my children. And they are a burden to no one. My 2 oldest are in college, working their way through. The other 2 are straight A students and bound for scholarships. I may be poor, and I may be black, but I’m not going to be bullied by these people into despising the heritage God’s given me,”
Lydia walked out – a rare exception.
One is reminded of a quote from Margaret Sanger, Planned Parenthood’s founder, where she describes her “Negro Project” which had the goal of sterilizing African American women and getting them to use birth control—all for the purpose of reducing their numbers.
It seems to me from my experience…that while the colored Negroes have great respect for white doctors they can get closer to their own members and more or less lay their cards on the table which means their ignorance, superstitions and doubts.
We should hire three or four colored ministers, preferably with social-service backgrounds, and with engaging personalities. The most successful educational approach to the Negro is through a religious appeal.
We don’t want the word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population, and the minister is the man who can straighten out that idea if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members.
Jones is not the only African American mother to be pressured to get an abortion/sterilization at Planned Parenthood or other abortion clinics. Pro-abortion authors Rayna Rapp and Rosalind Pollack Petchesky comment on it as well. See here for more information about abortion clinics and racism.
George Grant Grand Illusions: the Legacy of Planned Parenthood (Franklin, Tennessee: Adroit Press, 1988, 1992 )101
