**Update 2013: This post is from February 2012 but in light of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Birthday, President Obama’s Inauguration and the 40th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade I felt compelled to re-post this one so we can look at the reality of racial slavery in the United States. I would love to hear what you think in the comments below.**
Unlike last year I have chosen to largely avoid the subject of Black History month (for many reasons), but if you would like to read those post please click here. I did want to talk a subject that I did not have the opportunity to address last year and I feel is truly important to the Black community at-large. The subject is abortion. So let me put all of my cards on the table. I am pro-life, anti-abortion, anti-choice or however you would like to frame it. My view on this subject is shaped mainly by the Bible but also by my experience with family, friends, pastors, and professors that have had or have been the target of an abortion. I am not sure that I can change your mind, or if that is even my purpose but my intent is to inform people of the realities of this issue. 
Last February (Black History Month) this billboard was erected in the SoHo district of New York near one of Planned Parenthoods (PP) 3 located in the city. Immediately there was a great outcry not only from PP but also the Black community. To be completely honest I was taken back by the back lash. So here is some history.
We do not want the word to get 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 [church] members.
This quote is from Margaret Sanger who was a “reproductive rights advocate” and eventual founder of PP and was aware of concerns that birth control would pose a threat to the Black community. Consequently, she was determined to alleviate these concerns by involving the African American community (specifically civic leaders, pastors) in the formation of birth control clinics in the South. The quote above comes from a letter that Sanger wrote to Dr. Clarence J. Gamble, one of the financial backers of the birth control movement. In the letter, Sanger argued that African American doctors needed to be employed at birth control clinics. She felt that it was important to employ black doctors and social workers in order for patients to feel that the clinics represented their community. When the Birth Control Federation of America became Planned Parenthood Federation of America in 1942, Sanger established the Division of Negro Service [context] to oversee outreach to the African American community nationally. These seem nominal until you find that Sanger aligned herself with the eugenicists whose ideology prevailed in the early 20th century. Eugenicists strongly espoused racial supremacy and “purity,” particularly of the “Aryan” race. Eugenicists hoped to purify the bloodlines and improve the race by encouraging the “fit” to reproduce and the “unfit” to restrict their reproduction. They sought to contain the “inferior” races through segregation, sterilization, birth control and abortion. Sanger embraced a certain type of eugenics called Malthusian eugenics. Thomas Robert Malthus, a 19th-century cleric and professor of political economy, believed a population time bomb threatened the existence of the human race. He viewed social problems such as poverty, deprivation and hunger as evidence of this “population crisis.” Malthus’ disciples believed if Western civilization were to survive, the physically unfit, the materially poor, the spiritually diseased, the racially inferior, and the mentally incompetent had to be suppressed and isolated—or even, perhaps, eliminated. His disciples felt the subtler and more “scientific” approaches of education,contraception, sterilization and abortion were more “practical and acceptable ways” to ease the pressures of the alleged overpopulation.
Why do I bring all of this old stuff up you may ask? What does this have to do with PP today?
History can give us a great view of the trajectory of any person or organization. Can a person or organization change? Yes, I have, by God’s grace repented (implying a 180 degree change) and I am being remade through the grace of God. Though PP has tried to distance themselves from Sanger the truth is that her mission seems to be alive ad well. Whether on purpose or not I do not claim to know.
The Supreme Court in the Dred Scott case of 1857 held that Black slaves were property without rights as free persons, yet today we view that as unthinkable; so also even though the Supreme Court in the Roe v. Wade case of 1973 did not give the unborn the rights of free persons, nevertheless the day may come when that too is viewed as unthinkable. Racism might—and often did—result in the killing of innocent humans; in our history, it often did. But abortion always results in the killing of innocent humans. Between 1882 and 1968, 3,446 [known] Black people were lynched in America. Today more Black babies are killed by abortionists every three days than all who were lynched in those years (Life Education and Resource Network).
Today 78% of Planned Parenthood clinics are in minority communities. John Ensor takes this as the crucial challenge of the pro-life, crisis pregnancy center movement: Go to the urban centers. Here is what he says:
To date, the pregnancy center movement has grown mostly in rural and suburban areas. The great challenge now facing us is to respond to the abortion industry’s dominant business strategy of abandoning rural and suburban abortion facilities and targeting urban neighborhoods. For example, Planned Parenthood closed 17 abortion facilities in 2004. But they sold 20% more abortions. How did they do this? By targeting minority neighborhoods in major cites. Currently, 94% of America’s abortion facilities are in cities. And African-American women, who make up 13% of the female population account for 36% of all abortions. Latino-American women makeup another 13% of the female population, but account for another 20% of all abortions. (See Susan Enouen, “Planned Parenthood Abortion Facilities Target African American Communities.”)
In other words, the de facto effect (I won’t call it the main cause, but net effect) of putting abortion clinics in the urban centers is that the abortion of Hispanic and Black babies is more than double their percentage of the population. Every day 1,300 black babies are killed in America. Seven hundred Hispanic babies die every day from abortion. Call this what you will—when the slaughter has an ethnic face and the percentages are double that of the white community, something is going on here that ought to make the lovers of racial equality and racial harmony wake up.
I simply want you to know where I am going, so that no one will say I made this association between abortion and racism in a sly or subtle way. It is not subtle. It is open and intentional and, I hope to show, justified. May God make the support of abortion in America and around the world as unthinkable as support for racism.
I don’t expect to escape misunderstanding or criticism for this message. But few attacks might be avoided by quoting Randy Alcorn whose view I share:
I do not believe that most people who support abortion rights are racists, any more than I believe there are no racists among pro-lifers. I am simply suggesting that regardless of motives, a closer look at both the history and present strategies of the pro-choice movement suggests that “abortion for the minorities” may not serve the cause of equality as much as the cause of supremacy for the healthy, wealthy and white. (Eternal Perspectives, Sept.-Oct. 1993, p. 9)
Again my aim is to associate abortion and racism, not to equate them. Whether the association is justified, you will decide. It’s not a biblical declaration; it’s a cultural observation.
Listen, I know that abortion is a very touchy subject, and talking about it can result in anger and accusations. Therefore, I pray that in this article I did not offend anyone needlessly or carelessly. As a Christian, I believe abortion is wrong, but I will not point an angry condemning finger at anyone who has had an abortion. The choice to have an abortion is not an easy or flippant decision. It also is a decision that has been made by many of my friends and family, and had in no way diminish my love for any of them.
Others, I suspect, may be tempted to dismiss my comments because I am a Christian as well as a man. I can only hope that if this is you that you will not do that and listen to the facts presented here. Others may assume that I will try to condemn them and then use the Bible to bash and ridicule. This was not my intent in any way, shape or form. I reference the Bible, not as a club, but as a source of forgiveness and encouragement. No one is cut off from Christ because of past sin – any past sin. What cuts a person off from Christ and the fellowship of his people is the endorsement of past sin. For the repentant there is forgiveness and cleansing and hope.” 2 Corinthians 7:9,10 says:
I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, in order that you might not suffer loss in anything through us. For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation; but the sorrow of the world produces death.
Reconciliation to God, through the blood of Jesus Christ, is the only way to overcome the tragedy of abortion, and though the sorrow of past sins can linger, the penalty will be forever lifted. If you have received this forgiveness, let the world know, and be a voice of warning to those thinking of talking the same path as you.
Thank you so much Jon. As you know from our conversations and probably some of my Facebook posts I have been very outspoken about this subject. However, having the statistics in an easy to see format is extremely helpful. Also, and although this should make no difference I can tell that it still does, I have found that being a white male I have been easily dismissed when speaking with people corelating the Eugenics agenda and Planned Parenthood, hopefully you will find a more responsive audience. The fact remains that abortion targets minorities. As you stated the strategy of placing more Planned Parenthood centers in minority communities shows this. In fact minorities as a whole have abortions at 3x’s the rate of white people, and furthermore African American women specifically have them at a 5x’s higher rate. An additional thing I would like to add that I find perplexing about all of this is that African Americans have the highest percentage of pro-choice voters out of any group. This simply makes no sense. It is black history month, time to do some research and learn history as IT IS ALREADY REPEATING itself. On a side note, there is a direct correlation between slavery and abortion, it is the stripping away of human rights from another, saying one type of person is more valuable than another. Just as slavery was justified by it’s proponents by saying it was alright because blacks were either not thought of as actual people or as second class people at best, and thus were not allowed to have the same rights and freedoms as people. Abortion follows this pattern to the letter, the entire reason that it is deemed “legal” is the classification of the unborn child as just a “fetus”, thus the unborn are stripped of any rights they should have, in favor of the women’s “right” to choose. Hopefully this does not offend anyone as it is not presented to hostile to anyone, however it is easy to see the correlation between justifying slavery based on a flawed belief that someone is less of a person and the justifications made for abortion based on the flawed belief that someone again is less of a person. When you look at the statistics and see the racial demographics behind them, it is easy to se one thing. Slavery viewed African Americans as having no rights, abortion views the unborn as less than human and having no rights. The difference is at least African Americans could rise up, at least they could have a voice, their are heroes like Martin Luther King Jr, Harriet Tubman, Rosa Parks, etc. A voice was able to rise up from within. The Unborn are unable to cry out “INJUSTICE” for themselves, so then who will be their voice?
I am not a proponent of abortion at all, but I am pro-choice. I do not believe that my personal feelings on the matter should dictate policy, on a legal basis, to a nation of men and women.
I absolutely condemn the obviously racist eugenics program mentioned in your article. It’s sick.
I do not believe, at all, that Planned Parenthood today, or abortion in general, is a racially motivated conspiracy. For some (hopefully very few), it may be the case. But NOT for the vast majority of America.
To understand why PP may focuses on what could be called minority populations (but is likely based more on economic considerations), you must understand that the organization is NOT AN ABORTION MILL. PP provides a wide range of services which are direly needed by many women. This includes contraception options, and health services. And, yes, abortions. The idea behind it, nowadays, is to make sure that all women have access to health services regardless of their economic situation. It is a good thing. You point to the frightening numbers of abortions among minorities, but how many in those same populations have received proper health care, prenatal care, sex education, and counselling who might otherwise have never had access to it, were it not for Planned Parenthood? THAT is what they are today, whatever abhorrent ideas may lurk in its past, and whether or not you support abortion.
I wholeheartedly reject the idea that PP, or the pro-choice movement, say on any level, “Hey look! Non-whites! Let’s hand out some abortions!”
I do think, though, that the shockingly disproportionate numbers where abortion is concerned is related more to the sad fact that our nation is still dragging behind in racial equality in terms of education and economics. As much as I’d like to pretend otherwise, we as a society have done a grave disservice to many, many people. We need to make a much stronger effort to help lift up the impoverished areas of our country (which, in another unpleasant and sad fact, are too often minority populations), instead of sneering in distaste and ignoring the problem. Fix the problem with our country that causes such a strong link between minorities and economic problems. It’s one of those signs that, while we’ve made great progress in racial equality, we have a long way to go.
The answer to the abortion problem is not to ban abortion, but to remove the need for it. Through education, easy access to preventative measures, and many other considerations, I think that we can help reduce the number of abortions in all areas of the country. Fix the problems that are hurting America’s minorities, and you’ll go a long way to fixing this problem, too.
Paul,
Thank you so much for taking the time to even dive into such a subject. It is a hard one to properly write yet alone respond to.
Unfortunately the assertion that our “personal feelings on the matter” should not dictate how we create/ garner policy is wrong from not only a present but a historical standpoint. I do agree, however, “that Planned Parenthood today, or abortion in general, is [not] a racially motivated conspiracy.” However, I do know that history can give us a great view of the trajectory of any person or organization and it seems to do so yet again in this case. PP is not doing the Black and Hispanic community some service by duplicating what schools, [free] health clinics, Medicare/ Medicaid, churches, and many other non-profit organizations do so much better without offering abortions. Here are some myths that need to be dispelled.
Myth 1: Planned Parenthood offers “choices”to women. While Planned Parenthood claims it is all about “choice,” the 2008 service figures show that 96.5 percent of pregnant women who received maternity-related “services” from Planned Parenthood aborted their children, with only 3.5 percent receiving prenatal care or adoption referrals.
Myth 2: Planned Parenthood is working to reduce abortions. While many Americans continue to believe the urban legend that Planned Parenthood is in the business of reducing abortions through birth control and sex education, the numbers tell a different story.
The year 2011 marked the 29th consecutive year Planned Parenthood increased its share of the U.S. abortion market, by performing 329,445 abortions. All told, Planned Parenthood affiliates brought in an estimated $160 million via its abortion business.
Another disturbing trend is Planned Parenthood’s uncanny ability to monopolize and profit off a “service” on the decline. Nationwide, abortion numbers fell dramatically in the 1990s and into the beginning of the millennium. But while national rates were going down, Planned Parenthood managed to more than triple its share of the market. In 1990, Planned Parenthood performed 8 percent of U.S. abortions. By 2008, its share of the abortion market had catapulted to 26.8 percent.
We can disagree morally or whether or not we feel our personal feelings belong in the debate but remove all of those factors and just look at the facts and you will see this and many more things that show a “disturbing”, at best, trend of this company.
Again, Thank you so much for taking the time to respond. I hope this leads us to discuss and discover more about this controversial subject.
I like the Crisis Pregnancy Center. They give women free and low cost health care and the one I volunteered at helped gather baby stuff for the new babies, counseled women who had gone through abortions, directed people to adoption options etc. They did NOT kill the babies. Planned Parenthood does not consider the babies at all.
Each of you have made a very interesting observation pertinent to a very sensitive topic, a topic that we at Life Dynamics, Inc. of Denton, TX have become very familiar with. 3yrs of in-depth research lead to a “Very Powerful” documentary film on Black Genocide in 21 Century America, Maafa 21. I would like to invite each of you to view our 2 min. 18 sec. Maafa 21 movie trailer, and if prompted, go a step further and order the DVD to watch the full-length film. YOU WANT REGRET IT!!! Black Genocide in 21 Century America is very real, alive and well! Learn more http://www.maafa21.com
Leroy,
Thank you for the link. I actually came across this website a few weeks ago in my research for this article. I appreciate the link.
Jon,
You’re welcome! When we were producing Maafa 21, we simply were blown away by the facts! It seems that you have had that same awakening. JUST WAIT UNTIL YOU SEE THE FILM! Also, Maafa 21 is being screened across the country. I invite you to consider becoming a host of a Maafa 21 Screening in your area, this will allow you to further elaborate on your personal research, and continue to get this truth in the hands of others. If you become interested, contact me by email, leroy@lifedynamics.com
This is solid stuff. I appreciate the way the Lord is using you, and how he has given you a heart after His. I sincerely pray he will give you more and more opportunities to be used to help put an end to this lie from the enemy. My mom used to work at PP and is an atheist. It is devastating to see how blinded we can be. I am so thankful for your gracious but TRUE and piercing words. It makes me angry that this is a part of our history and worse that it continues today! I know it breaks the heart of Jesus.
God bless you,
-A (white) Sister in Christ from the Northwest
Great blog! I am loving it!! Will be back later to read some more.
I am taking your feeds also.
Excellent post but I was wondering if you could write a litte more on this topic? I’d be very thankful if you could elaborate a little bit more. Bless you!