For the first time in the 95-year history of the nation's largest civil rights organization, the NAACP has stepped into the abortion fray. In a low-key announcement late last month, the group officially announced a position in favor of keeping abortions legal.
NAACP Board Chair Julian Bond said, "This is an issue of equal rights, and we are pleased to join those insisting on a woman's right to control her own body."
Janine Simpson, director of Urban Center Development for Care Net, a network of 750 pregnancy resource centers, condemned the NAACP's decision.
"The NAACP's decision to endorse abortion rights is irresponsible," said Simpson. "This organization should be concerned that one in three African American pregnancies end in abortion."
In their statement endorsing abortion, the NAACP says "public opinion surveys indicate that women of color seek abortions at rates higher than their percentage in the population."
But Simpson says that's because abortion businesses target black women and "an estimated 70 percent of abortion providers are in minority neighborhoods."
Day Gardner, director of Black Americans for Life, agrees, saying abortion exploits black women and unfairly targets the African-American community.
"Abortion is the number-one killer of African Americans, killing more Black people than all other causes combined," Gardner explains. "By the end of this very day, 1,200 black babies -- the babies that ensure our future -- will die."
During its quarterly meeting in New York on February 21, the NAACP board of directors adopted a resolution supporting the April 25th national pro-abortion march, which is co-sponsored by leading abortion advocacy groups such as NARAL, Planned Parenthood and NOW.
The resolution, introduced by board member Rupert Richardson, noted that 80 years ago, Dr. W.E.B. DuBois, one of the association's founders, said every woman must have the right of procreation "at her own discretion."
In addition to Bond, the NAACP is led by president Kwesi Mfume, a former Maryland congressman. During his tenure in office, Mfume built a consistent pro-abortion voting record.
African Americans make up 13 percent of the population, yet African-American women have more than 35% of all abortions in the United States. The abortion rate of black women is three times that of white women.
Gardner said the most recent census shows that black Americans are no longer the largest minority group in the United States. She attributes that to the 14 million abortions of African-American children since Roe v. Wade.
Gardner said abortion makes a certain class of people "less than human" just as slavery made black Americans seem less than human.
Instead of promoting abortion, Simpson added that the NAACP should instead "look for solutions for the African American family.
ACTION: Make your views known. Contact the NAACP about their decision to endorse abortion at NAACP, 4805 Mt. Hope Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215 or call (877) NAACP-98. Email washingtonbureau@naacpnet .org.
For the first time in the 95-year history of the nation's largest civil rights organization, the NAACP has stepped into the abortion fray. In a low-key announcement late last month, the group officially announced a position in favor of keeping abortions legal.