Abortion Hurts the Black Community
Myth: Black women do not have abortions. Abortion is not a problem in our community. It is mainly a problem in the white community.
Reality:
- Black and white women have abortions. Looking at the number of abortions, white women have more than Black women. But proportionately, Black women have more. What does that mean? Proportionality is a way of looking at how often certain conditions occur in a community and comparing that to the community’s population. So for the Black community, we represent 12.3% of the population. Based on that percentage, we would expect about 12% of abortions to be on Black women. But in fact, Black women account for 38.2% of abortions (as of 2004). That translates to 320,584 Black children.1 This is a Black problem, too.
- Black women are 4.8 times more likely to have an abortion as white women.2
Abortion Hurts Black Women
Myth: Once a woman has an abortion, she experiences no consequences. Women who have had abortions are just as healthy as women who have not had abortions.
Reality:
- Credible studies have shown there is a probable link between abortion and breast cancer. Out of 11 American studies done, 8 reported an increase in risk for breast cancer among women who have had an abortion.3 These studies showed increases in the risk ranging from 20% to 210%.
- The results of a Howard University study done with Black women who’ve had abortions showed a 50% increase in the risk of breast cancer for Black women under 40, a 180% increase in the risk for Black women in their 40’s, and a 370% increase in the risk for Black women over 50.4
- Studies have also suggested that women who have had an abortion experience depression, substance abuse, and suicide at higher rates than women who have not had an abortion.5 An African American psychiatrist has seen firsthand the devastating affects on Black women who have had abortions. Depression, suicidal thoughts, and substance abuse are patterns she has witnessed in her post-abortive patients.6
Black Women Have Options Other Than Abortion
Myth: When faced with an unintended pregnancy, the best choice for Black women is to abort the child. Many of them are poor and unmarried. Having less children will make their situation better.
Reality:
- Opinion polls have consistently shown that Blacks are against abortion. For example, a 2004 Zogby Int’l. poll revealed that 62% of African Americans were opposed to abortion.7 It stands to reason then that there are significant numbers of Black women who are against abortion. With so many of us having abortions, it seems that we are acting against our basic beliefs. Acting against one’s beliefs is never likely to make our situation better, only worse.
- Pregnancy centers, adoptions, and family members are often untapped sources of support for pregnant women. Even with minimal financial resources, Black women can take advantage of these options. Please click here to go to the Practical Help page for more information
1 2004 Center for Disease Control Abortion Surveillance
2 Guttmacher Institute, Facts on Induced Abortion in the United States, January 2008
3 Dr. Joel Brind, Abortion-Breast Cancer Quarterly Update 3 (1997). For a table summarizing the increases in risk, see http://www.etters.net/cancerTP.htm
4"Breast Cancer Risk Factors in African-American Women: The Howard University Tumor Registry Experience", Journal of the National Medical Association, December 1993.
5 See: http://clinmed.netprints.org/cgi/content/full/2001030002v1,
6 African-American Women Are Exploited by Abortion, abortionfacts.com, Akua Furlow
7 New Poll: Majority of Americans, Blacks, Students Pro-Life on Abortion, Zogby International, 4/04, http://www.zogby.com/Soundbites/ReadClips.dbm?ID=8087