Signed by 10 African American pastors from the District of Columbia and surrounding areas, including Bishop Harry Jackson, and Dean Nelson of Care Net, a national network of 1,130 pregnancy centers, an open letter to Mayor Gray reads:
“Who could have imagined during the height of the Civil Rights Movement a day when the mayor of Washington, D.C. would be arrested for protesting for the right to use tax dollars to abort babies, a disproportionate number of them black? As pastors and community leaders, we feel bewildered and betrayed…
“Abortion is the leading cause of death in the black community nationwide. While African American women represent 13% of the female population, they undergo 37% of all abortions. As a leader charged with our protection and government, we are shocked at your passion to continue this trend with tax dollars.”
The letter also points out how the coalition of pastors are working together to open a new, privately-funded, pregnancy center in Washington, D.C. this year in order to offer women life-affirming alternatives to abortion. This center will be supported by their own congregations, non-profit organizations, and other private sources, not D.C. taxpayers, and will offer practical help, counseling, and resources to empower women to carry their pregnancies to term.
