A recent New York Times op-ed by the president of Planned Parenthood denouncing the organization’s association with its founder, Margaret Sanger, has drawn the ire of the Human Coalition and Human Coalition Action leaders Benjamin Watson, Dr. Deborah Honeycutt, and Rev. Dean Nelson.
These leaders, all of whom are African Americans, say that Planned Parenthood’s denunciation of Sanger rings hollow and that the organization continues to carry out Sanger’s mission, to be a detriment to the African American community and to carry out white supremacist and racist policies within the organization.
“It is time for Planned Parenthood to take the next step,” said Watson, Super Bowl champion and vice president of Human Coalition. “Whether they personally identify with Sanger’s ideology or not, they continue to carry out her mission, by serving as the leading executioner of our children. The same Sanger they claim to disavow would applaud their efforts and results, as a disproportionate percentage of Black children have been killed in Planned Parenthood’s abortion clinics. Acknowledging a racist history does not absolve them of the blood on their hands, as they continue to take full advantage of victims of the racism they decry.”
“Planned Parenthood has contributed to the harm of women of color for decades, and Alexis McGill Johnson’s so-called ‘reckoning’ does nothing to change that truth,” said Honeycutt, board chair of Human Coalition Action. “They have failed to confront the white supremacy within its organization, as they continue to aggressively prey on Black and brown communities with abortion. Destroying human life contributes to a culture of death and injustice, and Planned Parenthood will always be known for killing a generation of minorities, just as Margaret Sanger dreamed that it would.”
“I am glad that Alexis McGill Johnson is finally acknowledging what many Black leaders have said for decades—Margaret Sanger harbored racist and eugenicist views,” said Rev. Dean Nelson, executive director of Human Coalition Action. “The problem with Margaret Sanger is more than just her ‘association’ with white supremacist groups and eugenics, it’s the implementation of those views in creating the largest abortion provider in America targeting people of color. You cannot acknowledge the racist person and history without admitting to the racist vision that has resulted in nearly 80 percent of Planned Parenthood’s abortion facilities being located within walking distance of minority neighborhoods.”
Nelson continued, “There’s no redeeming Planned Parenthood’s tainted origins and current day racist practices. It’s a grave injustice that Planned Parenthood uses the taxpayer dollars of Black and brown people to continue Margaret Sanger’s legacy of racism and eugencism across our country.”
In September 2020, a coalition of more than 120 Black American leaders co-signed a letter to the national headquarters of Planned Parenthood urging the nation’s largest abortion provider to publicly renounce the racist legacy of its founder.
Signers included Democrats and Republicans; doctors, professors and ministers; men and women from different ages and regions of the U.S. In addition to Watson, Honeycutt and Nelson, the list of signers included the Sen. Katrina Jackson, D-La.; Rep. James White, R-Texas; Rep. Mack Jackson, D-Ga.; County Commissioner Monica Sparks, D-Kent County, Mich.; and Kay Coles James, among many others. {eoa}
Human Coalition is one of the largest pro-life organizations in the nation, operating a growing network of telehealth and brick-and-mortar health care centers across the nation. Human Coalition Action is an affiliated public policy advocacy 501(c)4 organization advocating for preborn children by challenging legislators to vote for pro-life policies, informing voters about pro-life candidates, and supporting pro-life legal arguments in the courts.
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