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As Adam has noted before, the anti-choice movement is waging a comprehensive campaign that alleges higher abortion rates within the African American community are evidence of a “nationwide conspiracy to commit genocide against black people.” Originally focused on unleashing incendiary billboards across the country, anti-choice activists unveiled the latest machination of this demonization campaign last weekend – “Klanned Parenthood.” From the right-wing Christian Defense League:
"We are launching 'Defund 'Klanned' Parenthood' to expose the reality that Planned Parenthood founder, Margaret Sanger, was a racist who supported the agenda of the Ku Klux Klan, spoke at their events and wanted to reduce the number of African-Americans."We are calling upon the members of Congress, who have given billions of public money to Planned Parenthood over the years, to defund this group whose roots are racist, bigoted and extremist.[...]"It is time for our generation to wake up and come out from under their apathy and indifference and take action to "Defund 'Klanned' Parenthood. Like the civil rights workers of the 50's and 60's, this generation will speak out with passion to end racism and bigotry."It should not be surprising that the claim against Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger won the "pants on fire" award from Politifact, a common laurel for the right-wing. But in touting a false equivalency between the agendas of the KKK and Planned Parenthood, the anti-choice movement so profoundly (or purposefully) ignores an obvious contradiction. The reasons behind high abortion rates among African Americans are complex. Higher rates of unintended inadequate health insurance, substandard health care, ineffective use of contraceptives, and poor sex education leave abortion as the only choice for women. Planned Parenthood is one of the largest organizations that provide the very health services targeted to address these root issues. The women’s health organization is not aggressively advertising abortions to African Americans as this campaign deceptively implies, but is uniquely oriented to address needs within low-income minority communities. By equating Planned Parenthood’s commitment to protecting these women’s rights and health with the violent and virulent racism of the KKK, the right-wing once again misappropriates basic reason and history for political purposes. Indeed, as Northwestern University professor Dorothy Roberts points out in regards to the billboards, the marginalization of women so inherent in these campaigns is actually more reflective of eugenics programs -- which, incidentally, were KKK approved:
She said a billboard that Life Always put up in New York -- it had the message, "The most dangerous place for African-Americans is in the womb" -- was reminiscent of the eugenics movement, which deemed black women as sexually irresponsible and incapable of making good reproductive decisions. "The thinking was they shouldn't be allowed to control their own bodies," Roberts said. "And it makes it difficult to talk about preventing unintended pregnancies in the black community or even design a public health response if the public believes stereotypes painting black women as inherently promiscuous."Unfortunately, the right’s blatant contortion of racism cannot be easily dismissed. Several state Republican lawmakers have already folded the idea into their justification for race-based anti-abortion bills, and even potential GOP presidential hopefuls Herman Cain and Rick Santorum tied it to their anti-choice positions. As suggested over at the National Review, Republican lawmakers that vilify Planned Parenthood are being refashioned within the right-wing as the civil rights leaders of today. By pushing the charge of racism against women's health clinics, the anti-choice movement is giving like-minded lawmakers the political space to further marginalize the community they claim to help. It is the height of hypocrisy.
