Renee at Womanist Musings emailed me about "an anti-abortion group in Atlanta [that] is targeting Black women by putting up billboards stating that Black children are an endangered species." No, really.
Renee notes:
As proof of this claim they offer the fact that Blacks account for 30% of the general population and 56% of the abortions.
...We already know that a woman living alone with a child is more likely to be poor and therefore when we factor in racism, it is quite obvious that poverty would increase. Would it really be so hard to suggest that part of the reason that the rate of abortion is so high is because Black women are already aware of the herculean task and are simply opting out due to a lack of community support and government funding?
It's not an unreasonable suggestion at all, of course. We know, for example, that
73% of women (pdf) seeking to terminate a pregnancy cite "Can't afford a baby now" as their reason for seeking an abortion.
In the qualitative sample, of women who stated that they could not afford to have a child now, the majority had children already. Financial difficulties included the absence of support from the father of either the current pregnancy or the woman's other children, anticipating not being able to continue working or to find work while pregnant or caring for a newborn, not having the resources to support a child whose conception was not planned and lacking health insurance.
Additionally, about one-fourth of participants in the qualitative sample cited her own health or possible health problems with the fetus as reasons for the abortion, citing concerns including "a lack of prenatal care." The US Department of Health and Human Services
reports that "about 30 percent of Hispanic and 20 percent of black Americans lack a usual source of health care compared with less than 16 percent of whites."
Renee notes that this subject, the targeting of black women by anti-choice campaigns, isn't getting nearly the same attention as, for example, the Focus on the Family ad that is
due to run during the Superbowl: "Finally, as scared as White women may be to interact because of the racial undertones of this argument, I must ask don't Black women matter? ... If abortion were to be outlawed tomorrow, more children may indeed be born, however you would also see a rise in the deaths of Black women due to back alley abortions. The Black woman has a right to life and this must be forcefully asserted."
A right to an autonomous life that includes the right to choose, which must be forcefully defended.
And, in my opinion, if not the opinion of glibertarian shits whose privilege affords them a personal security they erroneously attribute to bootstraps, a right to a life rich with opportunity, and comfortable in the security of a strong social safety net that means never having to decide between paying the electric bill or paying for prenatal care.
That any country who forces women to make such decisions has the temerity to call itself civilized is beyond me.
Open Wide...
Shut Up!
