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“Black Children Are an Endangered Species” is a statement that is appearing on 80 billboards of different sizes in the African American neighborhoods of metro Atlanta. The face of a frightened child is seen on the billboards. These signs emerged in January and are expected to come down at the end of March.
On March 9, the pro-choice web site RH Reality Check held a news conference to refute charges that abortion clinics were targeting black women.
Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice-president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, maintains that the people behind the billboard campaign want to destroy Planned Parenthood within the African American community. She says that if they succeed in Georgia, they will use the same tactics across the country.
Ryan Bomberger of the Radiance Foundation, the group that designed the billboards, has said that pro-life activists in 10 other states and the District of Columbia want to sponsor the billboards. According to Diane Loupe of WOMENSENEWS, the source for this article, the statistic at the center of this controversy is the fact that black women are four to five times as likely to have an abortion as white women.
Carol Rowland, professor of epidemiology at Emory University near Atlanta, said that the reason for that higher rate of abortion is that black women have a higher rate of unintended pregnancies.
Catherine Davis is director of minority outreach for Georgia Right to Life, a predominantly white group that spent $20,000 to sponsor the billboards, (that figure is according to the Radiance Foundation.) Davis says that Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers are targeting the black community. Davis’ group maintains that abortion accomplishes what the Ku Klux Klan could only hope for – and that is the extermination of black people. What incendiary, dangerous talk! Not only is it outrageous, but it reeks of ignorance and a medieval thought process. I wonder what kind of education Ms. Davis and her fellow Georgia Right to Lifers have had.
Presently, Georgia Right to Life and other anti-abortion people are pushing a bill in the state legislature that would forbid abortion providers from targeting black communities or performing abortions based on a child’s race or sex. Do abortion providers actually do that targeting, and that race and sex selection? Not to my knowledge.
Loretta Ross, national coordinator of SisterSong, a pro-choice group, is lobbying to stop the bill. She said, “It is very hard to persuade African American women in the city of Atlanta that this legislation-headlined by rural white Republicans-is aimed at saving black families.”
Add a Comment19 Comments
Hi,
April 6, 2010 - 12:59pmThanks for your well intended comments and information. The fact is my article was not about the history of Planned Parenthood. It was about the placement of anti abortion ads by anti choice groups in the midst of black communities.
However I will say that Planned Parenthood does excellent work in that it provides good health care on a sliding scale to anyone who walks in the door.If people want to dissect the alleged history of the organization, then they may go ahead. I am looking at the fact that this organization is deserving of support, especially in times like these where there is an atmosphere of terror that often surrounds clinics that perform abortions. Planned Parenthood is strongly needed by people of low income. Let us keep in mind those people. I support Planned Parenthood one hundred percent; as a feminist I could nothing else.
Anna
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Hello All,
April 6, 2010 - 4:05pmIt looks like I was a bit redundant. I didn't see my first comment posted, which I wrote today, and so I went ahead and wrote another. That explains the two comments to Anonymous.
Anna
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Check out Maafa21 Black Genocide in 21st Century America - this stunning and well documented film has all the PROOF needed to uphold this argument of Black Genocide from abortion. Maafa21 is fully stocked with original articles, books, writings, quotes, audio and video of not only Eugenics member and Planned Parenthood Founder, Margaret Sanger - but incredibly has video of a former Planned Parenthood president herself admitting the group took donations from others who admittedly wanted to use abortion to target blacks. How can one deny those very words? Sanger spoke to the KKK and was invited an additional dozen times; hardly think they would invite someone opposed to their views? Planned Parenthood clinic, according to Maafa21, referred to Eugenics Boards and in one case pointed out in the film - was the renamed version of the Arkansas Eugenics Society. Maafa21 shows how even Republican President Richard Nixon (using his actual audio) stated why people would vote for abortion ( not a pretty explanation- very offensive ) and Maafa21 quotes several civil rights leaders who protested the placement of Planned Parenthood clinics in their black neighborhoods. To the extreme that a black journalist who wrote a book on Genocide which stated that abortion was being used to get rid of blacks was fired from his job at Newsweek, because he felt the government was behind the plot. Since Planned Parenthood was and continues to receive millions by the Federal Government even to this day, one has to wonder. Anyway- watch the film Maafa21 - read the credits and see the piles and piles of sources they used, then form your opinions. Checkout Maafa21 here: http://www.maafa21.com
April 6, 2010 - 11:49amThis Comment
Conspiracy theories abound on any given topic. The current good work of Planned Parenthood in offering health care and many services, including but not limited to pregnancy terminations, to communities all throughout the country outweighs any PAST issues dealing with Sanger. Once again, Planned Parenthood is pro-choice, not pro-abortion. The agencies that are anti-choice I would say are biased against women, not just women who aren't white, ALL WOMEN. A woman can't have control over her own body or make her own choices? Sounds a little fascist to me. Or maybe what I should be getting from your comment is that if you're not white you're not allowed to make the choice to terminate your pregnancy? Anyhow, since you are a tax-paying citizen who supports the Federal Government, I would like to thank you for supporting Planned Parenthood, too.
April 7, 2010 - 3:24pm- Maya
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My article was about anti abortion billboards being placed by anti choice groups in black communities. It was not about the history of Planned Parnethood, which incidentally, is a fine organization.
April 6, 2010 - 4:02pmHowever since you are discussing this organization, let me say that according to the latest annual report, the 850 Planned Parenthood health centers delivered 11 million various services to 3 million people over a period of 12 months. Its fees are on a sliding scale. I will quote from a letter I received from Planned Parenthood, "For more than 90 years, Planned Parenthhood Federation has worked to improve women's health, prevent unintended pregnancies, and advance the right of women to make their own informed and responsible choices."
This Comment
Hello,
April 2, 2010 - 8:52amI just want to make a correction in my comment to Susan. I said that I disagree with her in that I will not give anti abortion groups any credit. This sounds like I will give them some credit. The fact is that I do not give such groups any credit at all.
Anna
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Can we say "Closed Minded"?
April 13, 2010 - 11:30amI've rarely run into a side of an arguement that didn't deserve a little bit of credit even if I didn't agree with it. You just absolutely refuse to hear anyone else but yourself. You even go off on those that stray from your intent.
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I forgot to add one thing, and that is always I support my arguments in the full context of the discussion, and don't indulge in personal negative comments, like you have done. Next time, why don't you just discuss the topic at hand.
April 13, 2010 - 2:05pmAnna
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You are again mistaken. You launch negative comments to ALL who disagree with you- this is my point. You show NO respect.
April 13, 2010 - 2:34pmThis Comment
I have yet to see any proof of what you are saying, just a lot of negative comments that you have written.
April 13, 2010 - 3:53pmAnna
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