It’s long been a devastating and tragic fact: More black American lives have been lost to abortion since 1973 than from every other cause of death combined.

In fact, when it comes to black women, the abortion rate is almost five times that of white women.

It’s this startling and heartbreaking reality that has led more than 100 black faith leaders in Ohio to urge voters in the Buckeye State to vote “No” on Issue 1 this November.  If passed, Issue 1 would enshrine a so-called right to abortion in the state constitution.

“This is not a party line vote, nor is Issue 1 a Republican or Democrat issue,” the pastors and faith leaders wrote in a joint statement. “This is a moral issue and for the black community in particular, it is a life-or-death matter.”

In calling out the awfulness of the initiative, the pastors noted that while only 13% of the Ohio population is black, 48% of the abortions in the state are performed on black women. In fact, they note how disparity plays out across the nation, acknowledging that more than 20 million black children across the nation have been killed by abortion.

The right to life is a basic, fundamental principle – but groups like Planned Parenthood with its racist origins callously and indiscriminately work each day towards the destruction of it.

Margaret Sanger launched the organization in 1916 with the desire to pursue eugenics and work toward “the gradual suppression, elimination and eventual extinction, of defective stocks — those human weeds which threaten the blooming of the finest flowers of American civilization.”

Ohio’s black pastors are aware of this sordid history – and spoke in opposition to it with one voice.

“The (b)lack community has been the target of the abortion industry for decades, beginning with the deplorable ideology of racist eugenicist Margaret Sanger, whose Planned Parenthood organization purposefully established abortion mills in minority neighborhoods and targeted our communities for abortions,” they wrote.

“Sanger’s mission was to kill (b)lack babies before they entered the world, and Planned Parenthood and the for-profit abortion industry have allowed that mission to continue to this very day.”

Given the pro-abortion support in so many sectors of influence, pro-life advocates face an uphill battle in Ohio. But it’s encouraging to see these men and women of faith speak up and out with such boldness and clarity on the destructive nature of abortion.

“Enough is enough,” the pastors declared. “The (b)lack community supports life. We have a rich pro-life history, rooted in our love of family and in our abiding faith and belief that God is the ultimate author of every life. As Psalm 139:13-14 declares, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”

Now we pray that Ohio voters will heed their counsel and vote “No” on Issue 1 come November 5.

 

Photo from Shutterstock.