By NRLC Outreach Department
February is Black History Month, the perfect time for Black Americans for Life (BAL) to drive home the connection between the historic struggle of African Americans for equality and the devastating impact of the ultimate assault on human rights: abortion. In a February 19 press conference held on the steps of the Supreme Court, BAL Director Day Gardner linked the struggles African Americans have faced, from slavery through the fight for civil rights, with abortion. "Through all our pain and suffering," she said, "it has always been our children who were our hope for a better future."
Ms. Gardner and the coalition of women assembled with her believe abortion is jeopardizing that future. "It's a somberness I feel," Ms. Gardner explained, "because after all that we, as Black Americans, have endured and achieved, by the end of this day 1,200 Black babies - - the babies that insure our future - - will be purposefully and yet legally killed without mercy."
Ms. Gardner emphasized the disproportionate impact abortion has had on the Black community. There are two abortions for every three live births, and statistics show that the abortion rate among Black women is three times higher than that of White women.
And this is no accident. "Over 70% of all abortion providers are in minority communities," said Rev. Janine Simpson, another participant at the press conference. Rev. Simpson said that 94% of abortion providers are in metropolitan areas, compared with only 2% of pregnancy resource centers.
The result has been that of the 44 million unborn babies aborted since 1973, more than 14 million have been Black. "Blacks are no longer the largest minority," Ms. Gardner said. "At this rate of abortion, our future looks dim."
As the director of urban center development for CareNet, an organization that supports a network of crisis pregnancy centers, Rev. Simpson is working to plant new pregnancy resource centers in urban areas. "Our goal is to empower every woman to have real choices," Rev. Simpson said. "Not just the choice of abortion but real choices that will change their lives, strengthen our community, and empower our people to excel."
Dr. Epps told of the devastating impact of her two abortions. Now the executive director of the Peninsula Care & Pregnancy Center, Dr. Epps works regularly with women suffering the aftermath of abortion.
"Each story is almost like a collage of painful memories, scars that last a lifetime," Dr. Epps said. "I know their pain first-hand."
Although the BAL-sponsored coalition consisted of Black women of diverse backgrounds and from different organizations, all shared a common goal: to spread the word about abortion's enormous impact on African Americans.
"Our purpose is to unite and empower Black women to break the silence and speak out," said Day Gardner. "We have the highest abortion rate in the country, yet Black women tend to be the most silent when it comes to this abomination. The coalition is working to change that."
To join the coalition (there is no membership fee), or simply to find out more about Black Americans for Life, please e-mail dgardner@nrlc.org.