PHILADELPHIA -- An African-American woman is almost five times likelier to have an abortion than a white woman, and a Latina more than twice as likely.
Even with abortion rates falling annually, abortion in the African-American and Latino communities remains higher than the national average.
Speakers at the Sept. 23 Pro-Life International Symposium at the World Meeting of Families will discuss this deadly disparity and the impact it is having on black and Latino families.
On the dais for the 6 to 7:45 p.m. event in the Grand Ballroom of the Pennsylvania Convention Center will be African-American civil rights and pro-life activist Dr. Alveda C. King; Hispanics for Life President Astrid Bennett Gutierrez, and other prominent celebrities.
“Planned Parenthood founder and eugenicist Margaret Sanger would be happy today with the abortion industry’s success in reaching African-Americans,” said Dr. King, niece of the late Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and director of African-American Outreach for Priests for Life. “But even she might not have foreseen the devastation taking place in the black community as a result. To combat this problem, we have to first recognize that it is a problem and stop talking about abortion as a simple matter of choice.”
Ms. Bennett Gutierrez describes abortion in the Hispanic community as a “hate crime” and said the prevalence of abortion clinics in Latino neighborhoods coupled with a heavy onslaught of Spanish-language advertisements for abortion -- including coupons – have taken a heavy toll on families.
“This is a tremendous attack on life, on the Latino community and on our families, and so many people are still unaware,” she said, adding that a quote from Hosea 4:6 resonates with her:
“My people perish from lack of knowledge.”
Father Frank Pavone, National Director of Priests for Life and author of Abolishing Abortion, said the World Meeting of Families is the perfect forum for discussing how abortion is decimating African-American and Latino families.
“Thousands of families will gather here to celebrate and uplift what is most important to them – God and family,” he said. “But when they leave, and go back to their parishes and schools and communities, we want them to be equipped with the tools they’ll need to help preserve and heal families who are not so fortunate or intact.”
The Pro-Life International Symposium is free and open to the general public. For more information on additional speakers, go to www.prolifeworldevent.com