In the wake of a leaked Supreme Court draft opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, the abortion industry has been doing all it can to attack the pro-life movement. For some abortion activists, this has meant violence; for others, it means accusing the pro-life movement of racism.
Key Takeaways:
- Abortion activists claim the pro-life movement wants to ban abortion so there are “more white babies,” but this makes little sense in a society where Black women (comprising an estimated 6% of the population) are having 38% of all abortions and in 2019, had more total abortions than any other race.
- Rather than work to resolve disparities, the abortion industry accepts them and takes money to abort Black children, all while nonsensically accusing the pro-life movement of racism for wanting these children to have a chance at life instead.
Black women don’t need abortion
Multiple abortion activists have taken to arguing that Black and other minority women need to be able to kill their preborn children, calling the efforts to deprive them of that akin to slavery, segregation, and other hyperbolic statements. Speaking on MSNBC to Joy Reid, Planned Parenthood Director Alexis McGill Johnson engaged in a conversation denigrating the pro-life movement and its motivations. According to Reid, the motivation is simple: racism.
“And the reality is that this movement grew out of a deeply segregationist movement and then belatedly latched on to abortion because it was better PR, to be blunt,” Reid claimed. “What does it mean that the victims of this ruling are going to be disproportionately the very same people who were subject to segregation, Black and Brown folks, indigenous people, the people who have been beaten down over the course of the history that they no longer want us to learn? And they have completely failed to change anyone’s mind on abortion, almost anyone.”
Additionally, the Milwaukee Independent argued that it is white supremacists pushing for an end to abortion because they want to somehow avoid the “browning of America.” The paper makes the nonsensical argument that ending abortion and birth control are merely desperate methods to “get more White babies in circulation.”
Disparities in the Black community
It is undeniable that discriminatory and racist policies have affected Black women in numerous ways, all of which make them more likely to feel that abortion is their only option. Black women are also two and a half times more likely to die during pregnancy and childbirth than white women are, with many of these deaths being preventable. The health care disparity is heartbreaking; Black women from wealthy neighborhoods fare worse than white, Hispanic, and Asian women from impoverished neighborhoods, while obese women of all races fare better than Black women of a healthy weight.
But the injustices cover more than just health care. Historically, Black schools have received less funding and fewer materials than white schools, if they were even built at all. Today, schools built in minority neighborhoods are still plagued with similar issues, like overcrowding and limited resources. The prevalence of poor educational opportunities in minority communities undoubtedly plays a role as to why Black Americans are disproportionately likely to struggle with poverty.
Given these and other issues, it should be no surprise that Black women seek abortions at a disproportionate rate. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Black women obtain 38% of the nation’s abortions, despite the fact that Black people make up just 12% of the population. In 2019, Black women actually had more total abortions than any other race.
Rather than helping these women overcome the root problems that have led them to feel that abortion is their only option, the abortion industry is ready and waiting to exploit these issues.
The abortion industry preys on minorities
Planned Parenthood, the country’s largest abortion chain, has long been accused of placing the majority of its facilities in minority neighborhoods. Black women have said they were pressured to be sterilized at Planned Parenthood; one former employee said they also pushed long-term contraceptives, like IUDs, in minority schools. “You’re talking about public schools where black and brown children are because they’re so hypersexual and need to be controlled?” the employee said. “It’s a direct link to the history of forced sterilization.”
Numerous abortion activists have furthermore argued that Black women will merely give birth to future criminals, and therefore, need to have abortions to prevent future crimes.
READ: NBA star Stephen Curry’s mother reveals she almost aborted him
Black and minority women continue to be preyed upon by the abortion industry; in some cities, like New York, more Black children were aborted than born, for years. This isn’t helping Black women. Abortion is a sign that society has failed women.
Black women deserve better than abortion
Most of the people in the pro-life movement do not want to see Black women continuing to struggle in poorly funded schools, living in poverty, or in fear of giving birth due to poor health care outcomes. Rather than working to solve these systemic problems, the abortion industry and its defenders want to see more Black children aborted, all while they claim the pro-life movement is racist for wanting to give them a chance at life instead. It’s a nonsensical argument, one that — for people like McGill Johnson — has financial motivations behind it above all else.
Planned Parenthood does not profit if Black Americans no longer feel their best choice is abortion. Black women deserve better — and that means they also deserve better than abortion.
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