Statement from Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s Alencia Johnson on Ben Carson’s Continued Offensive Comments
For Immediate Release: Aug. 26, 2015
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?