Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- A Republican member of Congress has released a new video showing him talking about the status of abortion in the United States. Rep. Trent Franks, an Arizona republican, is generating controversy by saying that abortion has been more devastating for the black community than slavery.

Franks, who has sponsored legislation responding to the high rate of abortions in the African-American community, released his comments to liberal blogger Mike Stark.

"In this country, we had slavery for God knows how long," Frank says. Nowadays, he says Americans look back and ask about society for allowing it: "What was the matter with them? You know, I can't believe, you know, four million slaves. It is a crushing mark on America's soul."

"And yet today, half of all black children are aborted. Half of all black children are aborted," Franks continues.

"Far more of the African American community is being devastated by the policies of today than were being devastated by policies of slavery. And I think, What does it take to get us to wake up?" he adds.

According to a report in The Hill, Stephanie Young, the deputy press secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, was shocked by the comments.

"To compare the horrors and inhumane treatment of millions of African Americans during slavery as a better way of life for African Americans today is beyond repulsive," she said. "In 2010, during the second year of our first African American President, it is astonishing that a thought such as this would come to mind, let alone be shared."

Statistics from the federal government and the mainstream media appear to back up Franks' point that abortions target black women.

According to figures from the Centers for Disease Control, while black women represent 12.5% of American females they have 38.2% of all abortions, according to the authors.

The rate is so high that ABC News recently focused on it during a news feature.

The news outlet interviewed Catherine Davis of Georgia Right to Life, a black woman who is upset at how abortion adversely affects her community.

"My people are dying. My people are dying, and nobody cares that my people are dying. And I want people to be, to look at this. Is there any truth to what we are saying?" she said.

And ABC News correspondent Steve Osunsami admitted that even black Americans have historically been concerned about the racial component of abortion.

"Among African-Americans, this argument that abortion is bad for the race is an old one, but it’s not usually debated so openly. As far back as the 1940s, many black Americans resisted abortion, quietly fearing that abortion was an attempt at black extermination," he explained.

And in Georgia, a state with a higher percentage of blacks than most, he noted that abortions run high in the black community.

"It is true that, of the 35,000 women in Georgia who received abortions in 2008, nearly 21,000 were black women, more than twice the number of white women. Nationally, while black women are one and a half times more likely than white women to become pregnant, the CDC says black women are three times more likely to get an abortion," he explained.

Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com