Despite African Americans making up just 13 percent of the U.S. population, they are overrepresented in abortion statistics. Among black women, the abortion rate is 27.1 per 1,000. Among whites, it’s 10 per 1,000. Abortion facilities are frequently found in minority communities. Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger was a eugenicist whose goal was to limit the reproduction of “undesirables.”
These are facts well-known and well-cited in the pro-life community. But there is often something missing from pro-lifers’ conversations about race and abortion. That is the acknowledgement of the many “layers” that contribute to black abortion rates, says Cherilyn Holloway. Founder of Pro-Black Pro-Life, Holloway works to combat abortion in the black community — as well as the factors that drive women to abortion clinics.
“Nothing really matters if babies don’t make it out of the womb,” the black pro-life activist told The Stream. “But what happens when they’re out?”