I think it is absolutely and horribly wrong how Planned Parenthood has targeted the black community. However, I think that both sides need to do more to educate kids and teens. I break with most pro-lifers on the contraception issue. I also believe that “abstinence plus” education is the best method. Several studies have found that encouraging abstinence but still educating about contraceptives is very effective.

While acknowledging that the abortion rate for blacks in the United States is “almost 5 times that for white women,” Cohen [Susan Cohen, director of government affairs at the Guttmacher Institute] concluded in her analysis, “these higher unintended pregnancy rates (among African American women) reflect the particular difficulties that many women in minority communities face in accessing high-quality contraceptive services and in using their chosen method of birth control consistently and effectively over long periods of time.”

“Because black women experience so many more unintended pregnancies than any other group—sharply disproportionate to their numbers in the general population—they are more likely to seek out and obtain abortion services than any other group,” said Cohen.”

Perhaps we should focus our efforts on ways to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies with age-appropriate reproductive health education (abstinence included) and increased access to affordable contraception.