Let Freedom Ring!

By Lorey Carter

Most of us are familiar with this phrase because of its use during the civil rights movement of the 1960’s. We hear a lot about the civil rights movement during Black History Month, justifiably so. After all, it was a pivotal time in this nation and although it was a very painful time, it resulted in a long overdue change in the way black folks were to be valued and treated as American citizens. It was the next major step toward realizing what the U.S. Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Unfortunately, while segregation laws were disbanded, racism and discrimination did not end with the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It still goes on today in various forms. We see discrimination today most visibly in the criminal justice system. For example, data collected from state courts by the Justice Department shows that a higher percentage of black felons than white felons receive prison sentences for nearly all offenses, and also that blacks receive longer maximum sentences for most offenses. One has only to speculate why African Americans make up 12% of the population, yet they make up 38% of those incarcerated in state or federal prisons. In addition, 10.4% of all black males in the United States between the ages of 25 and 29 were sentenced and in prison, compared to 2.4% of Hispanic males and 1.3% of white males (Bureau of Justice Statistics).

I recently saw a movie entitled “American Violet” based on a true story which illustrates how racism factors into arrests, prosecutions and incarcerations resulting in injustice and disparate impacts on the African American community.



I have witnessed first hand racial discrimination and it troubles me greatly. I once worked as a law clerk for the public defender’s office and heard attorneys make racial slurs about their own clients. I’ve been pulled over in a car for “DWB” (driving while black) only to be released when there was nothing to cite me for. I would never minimize the importance of drawing attention and fighting to end this injustice against the black community.

However, I also see racism and discrimination carried out today in another form that is even more insidious than what we see in the criminal justice system. Many of the targeted victims of this discrimination have been indoctrinated to be willing accomplices in their own exploitation. I’m yearning for the day when as many African Americans are willing to draw attention to and fight to end this discrimination against the black community as they are the discrimination in the criminal justice system. I’m talking about abortion. I’m talking about a history of reproductive discrimination instigated by eugenicists and carried out by Planned Parenthood and others who believed that African Americans were a threat to society and therefore set in motion a plan to prevent or discourage us from reproducing.

There is traceable evidence exposed in a new documentary entitled “MAAFA21” proving that African American women have been systematically targeted and have been offered the “choice” to abort, initially through coercion and later through insistence that the opportunity to abort is a civil right.



According to the propaganda exposed in Maafa21, to be denied the opportunity to abort amounts to denial of a woman’s reproductive freedom. Today, we have the targeted victims (African American women) embracing this ideology and many are demanding their “right” to abort.

The opportunity to abort one’s child is not a civil right. It is not an expression of a woman’s reproductive freedom. It is participation in exploitation of the woman and her unborn child. This form of discrimination is so insidious and even more damaging than racism in the criminal justice system because one of the victims (the baby) is dead and the other victim often believes that her abortion was a good thing. That is heartbreaking.

Sadly, the percentages which denote the disparities seen in the criminal justice system as a result of discrimination (12% of the population is African American and 38% of those are incarcerated) is tragically similar to the disparities seen in abortion where African American women make up 12% of the female population, but have 37% of the abortions (Alan Guttmacher Institute).

Thankfully, this tragedy is not going totally unnoticed.

There are a growing number of African American leaders, including pastors who are beginning to sound the alarm in our community exposing the truth about the impact of abortion and how it is threatening our legacy as a people. I have the pleasure of working directly along side of some of these leaders in Washington, D.C., Richmond, Virginia and Detroit to reach African American communities that have some of the highest abortion rates in the country. Care Net is committed to partnering with these leaders to develop pregnancy centers in these underserved communities so that African American women facing unplanned pregnancies will not be solely surrounded by abortion providers, but will have access to practical support as they make life-affirming decisions about their pregnancy. And for those women who have already experienced abortion, these centers will also provide recovery counseling to them.

The word is getting out via the media as well. A recent billboard ad campaign “Black Children Are An Endangered Species” in Atlanta last month is generating awareness and getting national media attention. This provocative billboard leads you to the website, Toomanyaborted.com, which gives the facts about the impact of abortion on African Americans in a powerfully compelling way. The creator of the website and campaign is Ryan Bomberger, a very talented African American designer, who has partnered with Georgia Right to Life. ABC News recently interviewed Catherine Davis from Georgia Right to Life and Bomberger about the stir caused by this campaign.



Bomberger will be partnering with Care Net in the near future and will be sharing his marketing expertise with our affiliates during our national conference in September. I’m looking forward to seeing him inspire our affiliates to be more effective in communicating the message in the communities where they serve.

I’m honored to work with anyone committed to standing in the gap for life. But as an African American woman, I am encouraged by the emergence of more and more African Americans joining in. For me, for Care Net, and the African American leaders I’ve met, this is not a political issue. It is a life issue. It is a moral issue. It is the essence of social justice. In decades to come, when Black History is told, we will know that we did what we could to preserve future generations because we actually believed these truths to be to be self-evident: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights that among these are LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. And that will be the kind of Black History that we can all live with.

Lorey Carter is Director of Underserved Outreach at Care Net. She can be reached at lcarter@care-net.org.

“Unborn” Music Video Communicates the Duality of an Unplanned Pregnancy

By Elise Pino

Caitlin Jane’s exquisitely executed music video for her song “Unborn” gently communicates the duality of an unplanned pregnancy, reminding its viewers that two uniquely intertwined lives are at stake.

As the video unfolds the viewer experiences the uncertainty, anguish and ultimate joy of a young, single mother wrestling with the decision of whether or not to continue her unplanned pregnancy.



In listening to the song’s lyrics, however, one is drawn into the heart and mind of the young woman’s unborn child, lovingly calling out to her mother and asking for a chance to be born and to experience life outside the womb.

Ultimately, Jane’s music video serves as a poignant reminder of the two precious lives impacted by the decision to carry an unplanned pregnancy to term. “Unborn’s” lyrics echo the loving message communicated on a daily basis in pregnancy centers across the country, “God makes no mistakes; both [mom and baby] are wonderfully, fearfully made.”

Elise Pino is Center Services Manager at Care Net and can be reached at epino@care-net.org.

Abstinence Education Wrongly Blamed for Teen Pregnancy Rate Increase

By Toneia Mayes

In response to an article in The New York Times entitled, “After Long Decline, Teenage Pregnancy Rate Rises,” it is apparent that there are a few matters on this issue of abstinence education that need to be brought to light. The article implies that there may be a correlation between funding abstinence education and a 3% increase in teen pregnancy rates from 2005 to 2006.

This article states:

“While it is difficult to pinpoint precisely how different factors influence teenage sexual behavior, some experts speculate that the rise in teenage pregnancy might be partly attributable to the $150 million a year of federal financing for sex education that emphasized abstinence until marriage, avoiding all mention of the possible benefits of contraception.”

This statement is false. While it is true that most Abstinence Education (ABED) programs do not actively promote or encourage condom use, they do discuss condoms and give accurate statistics. Most programs discuss condoms while highlighting their limitations, but they do site that condoms are 85% successful at preventing pregnancy when used consistently and correctly 100% of the time. ABED students will never hear an educator try to convince them not to use a condom; however, they will explain that the only 100% effective way to avoid not only pregnancy but also STD's and emotional consequences is sexual abstinence.

To contrast the two approaches to sex education, Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSED) focuses on risk reduction via condom use or limiting the number of sexual partners. ABED focuses on the value of abstinence while extensively citing the risk of sexual activity at a young age with or without a condom.

And the debate over these two approaches just got much more interesting.

In a study released Monday, February 01, 2010 by the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, abstinence education has been validated as effective. The study states: “…a high risk population of 6 and 7th graders receiving abstinence centered education reduced sexual initiation, reduced the number of sexual partners (a crucial determinant in acquiring an STD) and further showed that abstinence instruction did not deter the use of condoms (a common charge brought by anti-abstinence critics).” Read more about this ground-breaking study at the National Abstinence Education Association website.

To take away the abstinence message from our youth because "some experts speculate that the rise in teenage pregnancy might be partly attributable to (that message) ..." is saying that our teens do not have a right to make an informed decision because of a speculation.

To imply that teens do not need to hear the benefits of remaining abstinent until marriage is to imply that condom use is somehow our teens best or only option and that is just not true.

With sexually experienced teens themselves saying that they wish they would have waited (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 2003), it seems that one of the best things we can do to meet their need is to teach them skills in decision making and help them deal with peer pressure to engage in sex.

Toneia Mayes is a Care Net Regional Consultant and a consultant for Community Based Abstinence Education grants. She can be reached at toneia@cox.net. For more information on the effectiveness of abstinence education, visit the Institute of Research and Evaluation website.

CARE NET CALLS TEBOW AD OPPONENTS’ SLAM OF PREGNANCY CENTERS ‘NONSENSICAL’

Did you see this on Fox News? Check out the video and Care Net's press release response below...



LANSDOWNE, VA – Care Net, a national network of 1,180 pregnancy centers that provide free support to pregnant women, was drawn into the Tebow Super Bowl ad controversy when opponents attacked the charities Friday on Fox News. Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde said the criticisms by women’s advocacy groups are “nonsensical,” particularly as pregnancy centers provide free services to 1.9 million people every year.

“We’re scratching our heads as to why anyone would attack Pam Tebow’s courageous story or hinder a message of hope to other women facing similar circumstances,” said Delahoyde. “As an organization that helps provide support to women with difficult or unplanned pregnancies, Care Net is even more confused why any group advocating for women would criticize the compassionate, practical help offered by our nation’s pregnancy centers.

“Part of the reason why our country is increasingly pro-life is because of the positive, volunteer-led work of pregnancy centers in communities across the country. Focus on the Family, the ad sponsor, has come alongside pregnancy centers for years with resources to empower women to make an informed pregnancy decision. Attacking such charitable help is not only nonsensical but also very much out of step with a majority of the American people.

Jehmu Greene, president of the Women’s Media Center, said the following on Fox News about Focus on the Family’s contributions to pregnancy centers: “This organization has supported fake crisis pregnancy centers that provide medical misinformation; they provide negative pregnancy tests; they provide fake ultrasounds…”

Delahoyde continued, “These are common accusations that abortion advocacy groups have been using for years, and they couldn’t be further from the truth. Organizations like Care Net provide training and oversight to pregnancy centers to ensure that services are offered with professionalism and integrity. When you hear the stories of women that have been helped by pregnancy centers, when you visit your local centers and meet the volunteers who serve there, it’s clear that these are false accusations meant to deter women from visiting us for help.

“Pregnancy centers serve women like Pam Tebow every day - women who bravely choose to carry their pregnancy to term against the odds. Their courageous stories are an inspiration to us all.”

CARE NET ON ROE ANNIVERSARY: PREGNANCY CENTERS FLOURISH YET ENDURE NUMEROUS STATE ATTACKS

Care Net issued the following press release on the anniversary of Roe v. Wade:

LANSDOWNE, VA – On the 37th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision, Care Net President Melinda Delahoyde said the pro-life pregnancy center movement is flourishing and contributing to the growing culture of life across the nation. Yet, because of the movement’s effectiveness, abortion advocacy groups are mounting an increasing number of attacks in state and local governments across the country, she said. “The compassionate outreach of pregnancy centers is infectious and our movement is growing,” Delahoyde said. “Yet these numerous attacks on pregnancy centers call for a new level of support and partnership to defend their critical work.”

Delahoyde provided the following actions items for supporting the pregnancy center movement:

• Become a positive force for change by joining the Inspire Life campaign. Download and share new Inspire Life PSAs by Grammy-award winner Rebecca St. James.
• Help tell the amazing story of pregnancy centers with local legislators, city and county council members, the media, on your blog, and elsewhere. Download and share the new national report on their work, “A Passion to Serve, A Vision for Life.”
• Contact a local pregnancy center and ask how you can help to advocate for their work. Find your local center at www.optionline.org and click on “Find a Center.”
• Track the work of groups like NARAL and Feminist Majority Foundation in your state. Learn about their legislative attacks on pregnancy centers in Virginia, Washington (also see SB 6452), Maryland, and other states. Contact your representatives in these states to defend pregnancy centers.
• Pray that the good work of pregnancy centers, the beauty of all human life, and the importance of compassionate outreach to women facing unplanned pregnancies would be communicated clearly throughout our nation.

Tune in online to the Blogs4life.com annual conference on January 22nd at 8:30 am ET to hear Care Net’s Kristin Hansen speak about the nationwide attacks on pregnancy centers and how you can help!

Planned Parenthood Sees Abortion Growth

Upon returning to work today after the holidays, Care Net was greeted with the following disconcerting news about abortion increases around the globe last year:

"International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) recently released its annual performance report for 2008-2009. Despite an economic downturn and a slight decrease in annual income, the abortion industry giant boasts of increased activity across all of its lines of work, including condom distribution, advocacy and abortion services." Read full article.

Apparently while the organization's income has decreased, its abortion business is really growing.

This news just reminds all of us here at Care Net and in pregnancy centers across this nation (and the globe) of one thing: we must recommit ourselves to the compassionate lifesaving ministry of reaching out, one woman at a time, with hope, help, and practical resources. We must use creativity with our minimal resources to counter the Goliath the abortion industry has become. And we must continue to pray and never give up.

With God's help, Care Net is refrehesed and ready to go in the new year. Will you join us?

To Pregnancy Center Volunteers: Care Net Salutes You this Christmas!

As Christmas quickly approaches, hopefully many of us are wrapping up shopping and are beginning to assemble with family and friends in our homes across the country. All of us here at Care Net wanted to send you a message of hope and let you know how much we appreciate your support.

We are blessed to have the opportunity to be a part of this amazing ministry. Every day, in pregnancy centers across the country, a volunteer or staff member opens the door and welcomes in someone looking for hope, help, and an encouraging word. We are humbled to be a part of this incredible network of volunteerism that has existed for nearly 40 years. To all those who volunteer in pregnancy centers, we thank you! Thank you for your sacrifice, your love, your compassion, and your courage. You don't always get thanked, win awards or medals, or appear in your newspaper as the local hero. But to all of us here at Care Net, YOU are the heroes that get us up in the morning and inspire us to do our job supporting you out there in the field.

As you can imagine, there will be thousdands of women across the country who will find out over the holidays that they are facing an unplanned pregnancy. Please keep them in your prayers. Pray that they will find the practical help and compassionate support offered freely through their local pregnancy center.

All of us likely know what it's like to face a twist or turn in your life that was unexpected. Many also know what it's like to have had the support and encouragement of a friend, a counselor, or pastor who inspired us to choose to follow a good and hopeful path rather than a path of fear. Someone who encouraged us to let go of our expectations of how we thought our life should be and to open our arms and heart to something different yet surprisingly good.

Well, that is exactly what happens in the heart of so many women and men who are facing an unplanned pregnancy and who, through the help of a pregnancy center counselor, choose to open their arms to new life. It's not an easy path free from challenges; however, it is a path free from the pain and regret of choosing to end the pregnancy in abortion.

Care Net is eager to see that more people are reached with the hope and help of pregnancy centers. We have big plans in the new year to equip, inspire, and promote our network of 1,180 centers in North America. With all that is going on in Washington, this ministry may be the most effective way to save lives - one heart, one woman at a time. Please pray that we will have ears to hear and the hearts ready to listen to how God will direct our ministry in the new year.

As you prepare for Christmas, consider how you might inspire someone in your life, perhaps a family member, to choose the path of hope. Your listening ear might be all that is needed. They may not be facing an unplanned pregnancy but maybe a big fork in the road. Perhaps all they need is to hear what you've learned in your life at similar decision points. Choosing to encourage someone else may be just what makes this Christmas a special one for you.

May the wonder and hope of that first Christmas, of God coming down as a baby in a manger to save us, refresh your hearts this Christmas. We'll see you in the new year - back here at Inspire Life!