Statement from Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Alencia Johnson on Ben Carson’s Continued Offensive Comments

Washington, DC — Like many opponents to safe, legal abortion, reproductive health care, and a women's right to make her own personal medical decisions, Ben Carson has been using race-baiting rhetoric to elicit opposition to the services many women turn to Planned Parenthood for daily.

Statement from Alencia Johnson, spokeswoman for Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“Not only is Ben Carson wrong on the facts, he's flat-out insulting. His attacks on women's health and safe, legal abortion aren't new, but using race baiting to further an ideological attack on women sure hits a new low. Does he think that black women are somehow less capable of making the deeply personal decision about whether to end a pregnancy than other women? This kind of language is unacceptable, and frankly shows how far outside the mainstream he is when compared to the rest of America. It's a shame that a doctor, who should understand the barriers black women face accessing high-quality preventive and reproductive health care services, would pander so clearly to anti-abortion extremists on the right.”

Quick Facts:

Recent research shows that fewer than one in 10 abortion providers is located in neighborhoods where more than half of residents are black.
Less than five percent of all Planned Parenthood health centers are in areas where more than one-third of the population is African American.
Of note, only four percent of the Planned Parenthood health centers that provide abortion services are located in communities where more than one-third of the population is African American.

Further reading: NPR: Fact Check: Was Planned Parenthood Started To 'Control' The Black Population?