Bishop Martin Holley

Washington D.C., Oct 16, 2008 / 02:33 am (CNA).- Responding to information from the Guttmacher Institute reporting that black woman have abortions at five times the rate of white women, Bishop Martin D. Holley, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington called on African Americans to rededicate themselves to family, prayer and the dignity of the human person.

"As an African American, I am saddened by evidence that Black women continue to be targeted by the abortion industry,” the bishop began in a statement.  “The loss of any child from abortion is a tragedy, but we must ask: Why are minority children being aborted at such disproportionate rates?"

The prelate stressed that since the Roe v. Wade decision, “the number one cause of death in the African American community has been abortion.”  Because of this, “we have lost over 13 million lives. To put that in perspective, it is one third of our present Black population. Since 1973, twice as many Black Americans have died from abortion than from AIDS, accidents, violent crimes, cancer, and heart disease combined.”

Abortion is an issue that must not be pushed to the back burner, he insisted.  “It clearly must be at the heart and center of our discussion of the survival of African American people.”

Bishop Holley, who also serves as Chair of the Sub-Committee on African American Affairs and is a member of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), went on to call for the federal de-funding of the abortion industry.

"Every year the federal government gives over $300 million to Planned Parenthood. Last year for the first time, Planned Parenthood took in over one billion dollars and reported a profit of $51 million," he said of the non-profit organization.

“We must demand an end to the victimizing of African American children, women, families and communities by Planned Parenthood and others in the abortion industry.  Over 80 percent of Planned Parenthood clinics are located in minority neighborhoods,” Bishop Holley continued.  He then referred to the well-documented evidence that the founder of Planned Parenthood, Margaret Sanger, began the ‘Negro Project’ to reduce the Black population.

Additionally, “we should be shocked and heartbroken by the findings of a recent phone investigation, that recorded a fundraiser at an Iowa Planned Parenthood clinic saying she was ‘very excited’ about a donation specifically for aborting Black babies.”

The bishop concluded by encouraging African Americans to "defend our community by rededicating ourselves to family life and marriage, promoting the gift of chastity and marital fidelity, committing ourselves to prayer and service to others and defending the life and dignity of each human person. We can welcome every child as a gift and we can overcome abortion."

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