The Black Community’s Connection with Abortion

Much of the current pro-choice movement is focused on underprivileged members of society, and providing abortion, something said to be healthcare, to them in order to sate some of the continuing effect. Although it is necessary to help those in need as much as possible, medical doctor Dan Rogers explains that “If all you do is treat the symptoms, you are not going to cure the disease. What you need to do is change the root cause.” Within the Black community, I find that abortion not only kills babies, but also promotes a culture of objectification.

I am lucky enough to have both my father and mother in my life. My friends back home, however, are not so fortunate. According to a recent study (2019) done on single parenthood rates in the Black American community, 64% of black children live in a family with only one parent. As there are a plethora of reasons for which this number is so high (Eisenhower’s social welfare, the creation of ghettos, etc.), a contributing factor is the culture that the abortion movement has created. I have personally witnessed the rhetoric that has been created among black men due to the option of abortion, many of which point to objectifying women and leaving once they are no longer wanted. 

The response to this problem, I believe, must come from the pro-life side. In this year’s March for Life, the most common sign held amongst the people said “Love them both.” The encouragement for true community and unity between partners is a remedy for the negative culture that has taken hold of my people. Many of the “reasons” for abortions that I hear given, such as poverty and housing instability, may actually be solved through dual parent households. Black married-couple households were only 12% of the impoverishment while black single-mother households were 45% and black single-father were 35% according to the National Center for Education Statistics. Thus, the “reason” of poverty for abortion loses much of its hold when a community fosters married-couple households. This fostering and unity under the pro-life message is what will change the problem of single parenthood and impoverishment in the Black community for the better.

-Kenan Blakey