The black community is plagued by many problems from drug abuse to violence and high incarceration and dropout rates. But shockingly, abortion is the No. 1 cause of death in our community. Yes, abortion.
In a recent feature by Rev. John J. Raphael written for the Black Catholic Monthly, a publication run by the National Black Catholic Congress, it was noted that abortions in the black community occur 1,452 times a day, accounting for more than 13 million lives lost within the last 30 years. This figure is equivalent to approximately 1/3 of our present population.
Since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision in 1973 legalized the practice, more blacks have been killed by abortion than have died of AIDS, cancer and murder combined. Although we comprise less than 13 percent of the U.S. Population, data indicates that we account for 37 percent of the abortions performed, meaning blacks in utero are 5 times more likely than whites to be aborted.
The biggest sponsor of abortions in America is Planned Parenthood. According to their Web site, the organization runs more than 840 health centers. What they fail to state is that about 80 percent of these centers are located in minority neighborhoods.
In the past, investigations have documented that the organization accepts funding that is directed specifically toward the termination of blacks. A few years ago, a UCLA student, Lila Rose and a friend, called Planned Parenthood clinics in seven states. One played the part of a racist male and asked if he gave money would they use it specifically for the termination of black children. All of the clinics indicated that they would accept donations specifically for the termination of black babies.
“We have received contributions from people who want to support us because they want all welfare mothers and all black women to stop having children,” said Faye Wattleton, a former director for Planned Parenthood.
It should be noted that Planned Parenthood’s founder, Margaret Sanger, once wrote “Where Negroes dwell one finds them, in fat times and lean alike, contributing a disproportionate number to the rolls of dependents and delinquents. They make excessive demands on the white man’s charity and over tax his patience.”
Although some states are debating whether or not to defund Planned Parenthood, the group receives more than $380 million annually from the federal government.
–torrance stephens, ph.d.
