A controversial new media campaign in Georgia links the racism of
Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, with the
disproportionate numbers of African-American abortions performed in the
United States every year.
The campaign features billboards stating that "Black Children are an
Endangered Species," and which direct viewers to the website
toomanyaborted.com.
"Women are being lied to by ... Planned Parenthood," said Ryan
Bomberger, founder of the Radiance Foundation, which is sponsoring the
ads. "And that's what toomanyaborted.com is about. It’s
about
exposing these things; using the facts; using Margaret Sanger's own
word's."
The Radiance Foundation’s aim is “inspire people to live a life of
meaning” by helping people realize that all are created with a
God-given purpose.
Their website outlines how Margaret Sanger founded the “Negro Project”
to reduce the number of African-American births. It also links
her to
the eugenics movement, which advocated the sterilization of the unfit
and was closely related to racist Nazi ideology.
“Abortions increase where clinics are located and where are those
clinics located?" asked Dr. La Verne Tolbert, former board member of
Planned Parenthood. "Ninety-four percent of the clinics are
located in
urban areas where blacks reside. In my own neighborhood which is an
African-American neighborhood in California, there are three abortion
clinics strategically located all in the same area.”
Some have accused the ad’s sponsors themselves of racism for targeting
a specific demographic group in their attempts to reduce abortions.
"The language in the billboard is using messages of fear and shame to
target women of color," said Leola Reis, a spokeswoman for Planned
Parenthood of Georgia.
"It's incredibly offensive," said Heidi Williamson of SisterSong, a
pro-abortion health group for African-Americans. "And it's just
horrific to have to drive by it everyday.”
But Bomberger responded that, “This is not a campaign that targets
black women. It’s a campaign that exposes an industry that we believe
targets African-Americans.”
"We emphasize how abortion is a tragedy, it’s a human issue, it’s not
race-specific,” he said on the Laura Ingraham show. "This
campaign was
launched, however, because of the extreme disparity in the numbers."
African-Americans accounted for the majority of abortions in Georgia in
2006, although they make up just a third of the state's
population.
Roughly 40% of African-American pregnancies in the United States end in
abortion.
“Black children are aborted at three times the rate of all other
populations,” said Catherine Davis, Director of Minority Outreach for
Georgia Right to Life, which is also sponsoring the ads. “Georgia
leads the country in the number of reported abortions performed on
black women, 18,901 in 2008 alone.”
The campaign began with billboards in Dekalb and Fulton counties;
according to Catherine Davis, over two-thirds of the abortions in
Georgia occur in those two counties.
In related news, last Tuesday Georgia representative Barry Loudermilk
introduced the Prenatal Nondiscrimination Act.
“This legislation would make it illegal to conduct selective human
abortions based on the sex, race or color of a child,” he said.
“It
applies the same standards of non-discrimination that is current law
regarding employment, education, government and housing, to the
practice of human abortion. It also gives the mother the right to seek
civil damages against any abortion doctor or clinic who conducts an
illegal abortion in the state of Georgia.”
The IFRL is the largest grassroots pro-life organization in
Illinois. A non-profit organization, that serves as the state
coordinating body for local pro-life chapters representing thousands of
Illinois citizens working to restore respect for all human life in our
society. The IFRL is composed of people of different political
persuasions, various faiths and diverse economic, social and ethnic
backgrounds. Since 1973 the Illinois Federation for Right to Life has
been working to end abortion and restore legal protection to those members of the
human family who are threatened by abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Diverse though we are, we hold one common belief - that
every human being has an inalienable right to life that is precious and must be protected. IFRL is
dedicated to restoring the right to life to the unborn, and protection
for the disabled and the elderly.Click here to learn more about the IFRL.
