Black Prolife Movement Gains Momentum, Support

BRONX, NY -  Momentum is building for "If My People" -- A Rally for Life and Justice to be held at Manhattan Bible Church, Bronx, NY tonight at 7 p.m. Archbishop Timothy Dolan, of New York and President of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, has announced that he will attend the rally. The Archbishop recently reiterated the pro-abstinence, pro-life, anti-contraceptive position of the church. "My word, what have we done the last 30 years? There's candy bowls on people's desks with condoms, they're dropping them from airplanes, yet nothing seems to improve, so they've been on the wrong track here," Archbishop Dolan said.

Dr. Alveda King, Director of African American Outreach for NY based Priests for Life will speak at the rally and urges members of the Black Pro-Life Movement from around the country to attend also to address the unprecedented targeting of minority women for abortion. "It's an outrage that there is an attempt to stifle the life-saving work of New York's Crisis Pregnancy Centers," said Dr. King. "We come together in a chorus of protest against Bill 371--legislation that would require pregnancy centers, (CPCs) to post signage in front of their buildings that would discourage women seeking alternatives to abortion from entering their facilities," she continued.

The Primary target of Bill 371 is Chris Slattery, a white, Roman Catholic, who founded the first pregnancy center in NY. Today, he oversees 12 CPCs--one across the street from Planned Parenthood at E. 149th Street. "Since 1985, our CPCs have saved 38,000 babies through one-on-one counseling to over 100,000 women by providing education about fetal development and alternatives to abortion including parental support and adoption," said Slattery.

NY statistics broken down by ethnic groups for 2009: Black's have a 59.8% abortion rate in NY compared to Hispanics with 41.3%, Asians 22.7% and Whites having 20.4% of the abortions.

The leaders are expected to speak about the startling abortion statistics in New York and urge the community to speak out against Bill 371.

Those attending the Rally include: Dr. Gerard Nadal, Center for Morality in Public Life; Rev. Arnold Culbreath, Protecting Black Life; Rev. Clennard Childress, LEARN; Pastor Stephen Broden, LEARN; Rev. Catherine Davis, Network of Politically Active Christians; Rev. Walter Hoye, Issues4Life; and Rev. Dr. La Verne Tolbert, national abstinence educator.