Rep. Trent Franks: Abortion More Devastating to Blacks than Slavery

Allowing African-American women to exercise their reproductive rights is not more devastating than slavery by any stretch of the imagination.

Sadly, Republican Representative Trent Franks is a little shaky on that point. In an interview with StarkReports.com, Frank gets swept up in anti-choice fervor, saying "half of all black children are aborted. Far more black children, far more of the African-American community is being devastated by the policies of today, than were being devastated by the policies of slavery."

This statement comes on the heels of dozens of billboards, which it turns out that CBS owns (what is up with the anti-choice, homophobic messaging from them?), that appeared in Georgia with the message "Black Child are an Endangered Species."  As Pema Levy wrote in her post on the anti-choice, racist ads, black women do have a higher rate of abortion -- and a higher rate of unintended pregnancy. Factors that contribute to this include a lack of access to health services, education, and opportunity. If Republicans were really so concerned about the African-American community, which disproportionately suffers from poverty, passing health reform would be a good start.

Upholding reproductive rights is nowhere near on the same level as enslaving an entire race, and the rape of countless women by the men who claimed to own their bodies. The concept that a woman's ability to make choices about her own body is more devastating than slavery is deeply offensive. Tell Rep. Franks that he's gone too far, and to apologize immediately for his racist and sexist comments.