Alveda King, black ministers urge pro-choice pastor running for Senate to reject 'systemic racism of abortion'
A coalition of African American ministers and pro-life activist Alveda King have urged pro-choice pastor and Senate candidate Raphael Warnock to reject the “systemic racism of abortion.”
In an open letter addressed to Warnock and sent out last Friday, King and the faith leaders told the candidate that they felt “compelled to confront your most recent statements on abortion.”
“As a Christian pastor and as a Black leader, you have a duty to denounce the evil of abortion, which kills a disproportionate number of Black children. Your open advocacy of abortion is a scandal to the faith and to the Black community,” stated the letter, in part.
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“Despite making up only 13% of the female population, Black women represent 36% of all abortions, and Black women are almost five times more likely than their white counterparts to receive an abortion.”
Signed by nearly 30 African American faith leaders, the letter called on Warnock to “reconsider your public advocacy for abortion.”
“Unborn Black, brown and white lives are so much more than clumps of cells, burdensome inconveniences, or health problems,” the letter continued.
“They are sacred human persons endowed by God with inalienable dignity and worth. We implore you to uphold the Biblical defense of life and to fight against the systemic racism of abortion.”
On Jan. 5, Georgia will hold two runoff elections to determine who will occupy their Senate seats and thus determine which major party will control the upper house of Congress.
Warnock is the senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church of Atlanta, the same church that the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Alveda King’s uncle, once served as lead pastor.
Warnock identifies as pro-choice on the abortion issue, telling Tim Bryant of WGAU in August that he found the position “consistent with” his beliefs as a minister.
“I believe that healthcare is a human right and I believe that it is something that the richest nation in the world provides for it citizens. And for me, reproductive justice is consistent with my commitment to that,” he said.
“I believe unequivocally in a woman’s right to choose and that the decision is something that we don’t want government engaged in.”
According to a report by the polling website FiveThirtyEight posted Saturday, Warnock is presently narrowly leading Republican incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler, 48.5% to 46.9%.
Loeffler was appointed earlier this year to fill the Senate seat vacated by Johnny Isakson when he resigned effective New Year’s Eve 2019 due to health reasons.
Additionally, Democrat Jon Ossoff was narrowly leading Republican incumbent Senator David Perdue in the FiveThirtyEight poll, having 48.5% to Perdue’s 47.5%.
