This month, Ohio Right To Life launched a new pro-life ad campaign in Cleveland’s low-income, majority black neighborhoods.
“African Americans experience a shockingly disproportionate number of abortions,” said Katherine McCann, public relations manager at Ohio Right to Life, in a press release. “We constantly hear about the racial disparities in infant mortality, gun violence and voting. Our goals with this campaign are to spread awareness about the racial crisis of abortion, and most importantly, to save lives in Cleveland, Ohio’s abortion capital.”
Although it’s an important issue, the ads don’t just focus on the high abortion rate among black women. My favorite ad is this one, which reminds men that fatherhood begins with two pink lines.
The billboard is positive, but emphatic in its message: a real man doesn’t just fork over $300 and encourage the woman carrying his baby to “take care of it.” Real men stand by and support pregnant women and children–including children in the womb.
As of 2012, 42 percent of abortions in Ohio were performed on black women–an extremely high number far out of proportion with their share of the general population. A young black woman, Lakisha Wilson, was killed earlier this year at a clinic in Cleveland, which Ohio Right To Life calls the “abortion capital” of Ohio.
“We want to see abortion end for every race,” said McCann. “By increasing awareness and encouraging a familial support system, we hope to engender a culture of life for mother, father, and child alike.”
