A US-based anti-abortion organization has started a controversial new social media campaign concerning abortions in the African-American community.
The series of campaign videos under the title ‘Numbers Don’t Lie’ was produced by the National Black Prolife Coalition in conjunction with likeminded group the Radiance Foundation.
The videos present statistics purported to originate from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) regarding the rate of abortions among African-Americans. They also make use of bold graphics and intense music to underscore the group’s underlying belief that abortion is a large-scale, systematic operation and the number one killer of African-Americans annually.
The campaign largely points to Planned Parenthood, the US healthcare and reproductive information provider, likening the actions of the government-funded body to “genocide”.
It also points the finger at African-American leaders such as Oprah Winfrey and groups such as the NAACP who have spoken in favor of reproductive choice.
The video campaign has already generated a great deal of debate in the United States. On 10 July, the National Public Radio programme Tell Me More featured a heated discussion between Radiance Foundation co-founder Ryan Bomberger and Religious Coalition of Reproductive Choice president Rev Carlton Veazey.
There have also been retaliatory video campaigns, such as that created by SisterSong, a ‘justice collective’ for African-American women.
SisterSong – which stands in solidarity with Irish pro-choice group Choice Ireland – made the film to capture “the activism of Black women in response to the anti-abortion movement and their attacks on women of color through a national billboard campaign.”
The National Black Prolife Coalition’s radical campaign highlights fears and viewpoints that seem all the more heightened during a period of economic downturn and varied race relations.
Hugely divisive though it is, some feel the controversy surrounding the ‘Numbers Don’t Lie’ series has at least restarted conversations about these moral, social, and political issues. Any resolution to these conversations, however, is still up in the air.
As Tell Me More host and moderator Michel Martin commented: “Let me finally say, this is obviously an important topic and we’re not going to resolve the differences here.”
