In a recent article on Ebony online, Tasha Fierce openly shared that she had an abortion last month. Fierce describes herself as an African American feminist who writes on race, sex, politics and pop culture.
In her piece, titled I Just Had an Abortion, she says she doesn’t regret her abortion and alleges that abortion “stigma” is more pronounced in the lives of Black women than White. She believes this because when she was walking into the abortion facility, a picketer asked, “Did you know abortion is the number one cause of death in the African-American community?”
That question didn’t sit too well with Fierce and she responded by cursing at the pro-lifer. She writes, “In my mental and physical state, I really was not prepared to quietly accept a bunch of non-Black people using my race to guilt me out of getting an abortion. I snapped. How I was able to scream “F*** you!” with as much force as I did being as weak as I was, I don’t know. That rage was strong. My boyfriend restrained me from responding any further and rushed me inside.”
She continues, “Black women are blamed for a litany of ills that plague our community, and we’re constantly disrespected for the choices we make regarding our bodies. On the one hand, a Black woman who goes through with an unwanted pregnancy and ends up having to use social services is shamed for being irresponsible and “leeching” off the system. On the other, a Black woman who makes the decision to terminate a pregnancy when they know having a child isn’t the best idea can be shamed for endangering the future of her race. I’m concerned for Black women that seek abortion who aren’t as comfortable with their individual decision as I am, and who may be shamed into changing their mind by anti-choice campaigns targeted at the Black community. As with too many other experiences I’ve had that should be strictly personal, my abortion ended up being one more reminder that Black women are so often damned if we do, damned if we don’t.”
Even though earlier in her article Pierce acknowledges that Black women’s abortion rate is five-times higher than that of White women, she believes that pro-lifers use race to shame women. However, the fact of the matter is the pro-life community is using mathematical statistics to reveal the massive genocide of black babies through abortion.
Our intention isn’t to shame anyone; we’re just trying to share the truth.
And in Pierce’s case, the truth is that abortion has ended the life of more of her African American brothers and sisters than all other causes of death combined, including accidents, cancer, AIDS and violent crimes. In 2008 alone, abortion killed 363,705 African American babies; and while Black Americans only represent 12.6% of the U.S. population, they account for over 30% of all abortions.
Abortion has also ended the lives of black women, like Tonya Reaves and Lakisha Wilson.
Pierce should consider the words of pro-life, African American Representative, Katrina Jackson on abortion.
In 2014, she said, “The No. 1 genocide in the African-American community is abortion, and why we’re becoming a minority of minorities, is because most of our babies are dying in the womb from abortions. The comments regarding African-American women were that abortion helped them make a choice when they couldn’t take care of their child. And I told them that wasn’t a cure. If you want to really cure the situation that’s going on socioeconomically with everyone, you do that by supporting measures that give people a hand up, and not a handout.”
Jackson concluded, “I’m very passionate, especially when you’re looking at the African-American community, because those in the pro-choice community have been attempting to sell us on abortion being a way out for women who can’t afford to have their baby.”
Alveda King, the niece of Martin Luther King Jr., also addressed abortion and racism. King said, “Right now in America almost half of our babies are being killed in the womb, and in certain parts of America more of our babies are being aborted than being born. While we were marching in the sixties, a place was being prepared for us at Planned Parenthood. We were trying to get off the back of the bus, and they were going to have a space for us in the front of the abortion mill.”
It’s a tragedy that rather than admit that her own race is being destroyed by the pro-abortion movement, Pierce uses race to attack pro-lifers. Of course, there are racist people in our world today; but what Pierce doesn’t realize is that the abortion industry and businesses like Planned Parenthood are among them.
