Gloria Purvis, who chairs Black Catholics United for Life, explained that the modern contraception mentality is rooted in the eugenics movement, which believes that “the unfit should not reproduce” and considers many poor minority populations to be “human weeds.”
Margaret Sanger, who founded the American Birth Control League in 1921 – which eventually became Planned Parenthood in 1942 – was a “proponent of eugenics” and considered African Americans to be “human waste,” she said.
Using rhetoric of “family planning” and “better health,” Sanger promoted contraception among black communities, she explained. Sanger managed to fool many prominent African American leaders, who embraced her message and adopted what seemed to be “noble goals.”
The real goal, however, was to “eliminate the black family” because it created a drain on society, she said.
Sanger succeeded in spreading her message, and contraceptive use came to be seen as responsible, she observed, adding that even today, minorities are highlighted as an example of people who benefit most from the pill.
Although they may not realize it, many doctors in America have been “very much influenced” by the eugenics movement, Purvis argued.
She and all of her African American friends experienced “pressure” from the medical community to abort their children for various reasons, she explained.
Once pregnant, she said, “it was like running a gauntlet to get to delivery.” She added that women without resources could easily feel as though they had an “obligation” to society to abort.
While the doctors may present their message “in a caring way,” they – like many Americans – have been deceived by Margaret Sanger and “the pill mindset,” she said.
Michelle La Rosa is deputy editor-in-chief of Catholic News Agency. She has worked for CNA since 2011. She studied political philosophy and journalism at the University of Dallas.