“The death toll in Japan from the March 11th earthquake is 18,000 and climbing. The death toll in the U.S. from abortions performed by Planned Parenthood since March 11th is 16,278.”
This is the message readers are presented with upon logging onto thatsabortion.com, the website of the anti-abortion group Life Always. The group has gained notoriety after creating billboards that display President Barack Obama next to the words “Every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted.” Thirty of these billboards are slated to be uncovered Tuesday morning in the South Side of Chicago, angering many in this predominantly African-American community who have deemed the images racist.
This is not the first time Life Always has tried to turn heads by making an outrageous statement about the people in this community. A billboard depicting a young black girl and the phrase “The most dangerous place for an African-American is in the womb,” placed in the Soho neighborhood of New York, was taken down on March 24 because of overwhelmingly negative response in surrounding restaurants where workers were “being harassed,” according to The Chicago Sun-Times.
It’s alarming that Life Always believes that these advertisements will do anything but enrage the people they are targeting. Although the organization and its supporters don’t believe the billboards are racist – Dr. Alveda King, a pro-life activist, said African Americans should be outraged not on the basis of racism but because the images “reveal the truth” – it’s ludicrous to imagine that such a campaign would be geared toward white people. The statement Life Always is making is clear: if there’s one demographic we can reach, it’s black women because they have fewer options for abortions and are less educated.
Targeting the black community with billboards does nothing except further stigmatize a group of people who continue to battle stereotypes. It further proves many proponents of the pro-life movement are dedicated to amassing as much support as they can even if the road to power slights the integrity of millions of people. Hopefully, Tuesday’s unveiling of Life Always’ atrocities will ignite a response that results in the removal of each and every billboard. Freedom of speech is one thing but a breach of respect of African-American mothers and women in general warrants a considerable response.
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