Billboards on the South Side of Chicago is causing an uproar between pro-life and pro-choice groups.
The three billboards—unveiled Tuesday, March 29, at 5812 S. State—show President Obama followed by the statement "Every 21 minutes, our next possible leader is aborted." A private individual provided space for the billboards, which sit on the side of a building, Rev. Isaac Hayes told Windy City Times.
A group from Texas called Life Always is responsible for these controversial billboards, which were placed in five other states, including Georgia and New York, before being taking down after complaints. ( Life Always could not be reached for comment. ) The billboard is one of 29 that are expected to go up on the South Side of the city, according to Planned Parenthood. African-American women are the targets of these billboards "because they have a statistically higher rate of abortions than any other race," said Hayes.
Hayes, who leads the Apostolic Church of Christ at 6320 S. Dorchester, is lending his support to these billboards as a member of the Fredrick Douglas Foundation of Illinois, a self-acclaimed conservative devout Christian organization.
He said, " [ The ] billboards are twofold. [ They ] raise awareness about the disproportionate number of abortions in the Black community and raise awareness for other options." When asked what the foundation was doing to help women who are trying to make the best choice, Hayes said, We provide referrals to organizations like PASS [ Pregnancy Aid South Suburbs ] ." The Fredrick Douglas Foundation website itself does not have any information for pregnant women, only a link to website called TooManyAborted.com, which loads the viewer with statistical figures about abortion and adoption information.
Planned Parenthood of Illinois services 60,000 patients per year, 25 percent of whom are African-American. "We believe every woman has the right to make private medical decisions," said Carole Brite, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Illinois.
Ninety percent of the care Planned Parenthood provides is preventive: cancer screenings, STD testing and gynecological appointments, along with contraceptive education. Brite feels the racially targeted billboards are not helping anyone. "Using race as a scare tactic for women," she said. "I think that is the ultimate aim: [ to ] use race as a wedge issue."
Black Women for Reproductive Justice, a privately funded organization, is also making its opinion about the billboard known. "No outsiders should be able to come into the city and push a message of negativity. The billboard is going to drive a wedge in [ the ] Black community," said Cherisse Scott, a health educator at Black Women for Reproductive Justice. The organization offers a lot of similar resources, comparable to those of Planned Parenthood: contraceptive education, pre-natal care etc. The only procedures the organization does not perform on site is abortions. "We believe women need safe access to reproductive heath sources, and if it is abortion that we direct them to a safe place," said Scott.
Pro-life and pro-choice individuals feel that the other side has made no attempt to reach out to them. "No one has reached out to me in terms of conversation and dialogue [ about ] protecting innocent lives," said Hayes. Scott feels just the opposite: "For them not to sit down and address Black women, especially those doing the work, makes me think they believe we do not have the mental capacity to make a decision about our body."
Planned Parenthood and Black Women for Reproductive Justice are combining their efforts to get the billboard down before the remaining billboards are shown. "We are working with Black Women for Reproductive Justice and contacting local politicians to engage them in helping us get the billboard taken down," said Brite.
Organizations like Planned Parenthood, Black Women for Reproductive Justice and Chicago Abortion Fund will continue to provide their services despite the billboard. "It's clear those who fight against reproductive choice for women of color know nothing of why women choose abortion," said Gaylon Alcaraz, executive director of the Chicago Abortion Fund.
