Black genocide — that’s what Black leaders have historically considered measures like abortion, viewing it with suspicion; they’ve also strongly opposed taxpayer funding of abortion. Notable Black leaders like Fannie Lou Hamer, Dr. Mildred Jefferson, Dr. Dolores Bernadette Grier, Iowa Rep. June Franklin, Erma Clardy Craven, and even comedian Dick Gregory all viewed abortion and population control as genocide targeted toward their communities.
They had good reason to believe this. After all, Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger was a member of the eugenics society and stacked her board of directors with eugenicists. She spoke to the Ku Klux Klan, spoke against immigrants, and favored forced sterilization. But it wasn’t just Sanger — Planned Parenthood’s ties to eugenics go well beyond its founder. Planned Parenthood’s former president Alan F. Guttmacher was a former VP of the eugenics society, and was responsible for moving Planned Parenthood into committing abortions. The suspicion in the Black community persisted, so Planned Parenthood appointed Black leaders to quell those suspicions. Despite this, a former Black Planned Parenthood board member even called Planned Parenthood’s eugenics roots “racist,” as have additional Black leaders.
While today, many Black leaders seem to have bought into Planned
Parenthood’s sales pitch, pro-lifers have long contended that abortion
is a tool of eugenics that disproportionately affects the Black
community. And looking at the most recent data (2015) from the Centers for Disease Control showing numbers from 30 reporting areas, it’s easy to see why.