Alveda King: Where Is the Outrage Over a Dead Mother and Her Baby?
Last summer, the National Black Prolife Coalition was among the first and most outraged groups to demand justice for the death of Tonya Reaves, a young black woman killed by abortion in Chicago. For years, women who have been harmed by abortion have been crying out that “abortion hurts women!” Janet Morana is right to lead the crusade to recall abortion. As we somberly yet purposefully approach the 40-year landmine of the anniversary of Roe v. Wade, let us make no mistake about it. We are ready to continue this battle for life at all costs.
On Jan. 8 Operation Rescue wrote an article stating that a second lawsuit had been filed against Planned Parenthood in the death of Tonya Reaves. Again, Tonya Reaves was a 24-year-old woman who went to Planned Parenthood for an abortion—which they botched. She was then left bleeding for five hours before an ambulance was called. She was rushed to the hospital where they discovered that the abortion performed by Planned Parenthood was incomplete and she had to undergo another abortion in the hospital to remove the remainder of the baby. But it was too late and Tonya Reaves died later that evening in the hospital.
The first wrongful death lawsuit against Planned Parenthood was filed by Tonya’s family. The second lawsuit was filed on behalf of Tonya’s surviving son, Alvin, by his father. Tonya and her baby died, leaving young Alvin motherless.
Some people will not understand that along with the injustice of Planned Parenthood killing Tonya, another injustice occurred. They killed her baby in her womb as well. So how do we express to Tonya’s family in a loving way that two people died that day?
Because of lack of coverage by much of the media, not too many people are even aware of Tonya’s murder. And despite efforts by the National Black Prolife Coalition through press releases to hold Planned Parenthood accountable, there seems to be an unusual amount of stall tactics where justice should prevail. One can’t help but remember the onslaught of outrage during the Trayon Martin tragedy. Where are all of those outraged black leaders who were demanding swift justice for the tragic slaying of Trayvon?
Not only are the leaders of the NAACP and other black voices such as Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson lacking in conversation surrounding the unjust death of Tonya; absent also is the outrage over the death of Tonya’s baby and the other 3,699 babies that were killed that day in abortion mills throughout this country. And all the while, Planned Parenthood keeps laughing on the way to the bank while killing hundreds of thousands of babies every year, to the tune of over 54 million dead babies on record since 1973.
What’s even worse is that where before 2012, Planned Parenthood was receiving $1 million dollars a day in U. S. tax dollars—yes, around $365 million dollars a year—in 2012 they received over $500 million dollars from our tax coffers. And they are still operating poorly regulated killing centers around this country. And in a few days, people will be celebrating the 40th commemoration of legal baby slaughter in America.
Yes, abortion is legal; but it shouldn’t be. Abortion is not civil. Abortion is not moral. Abortion hurts women, kills babies and even kills women like Tonya and the countless others who have died from abortion and/or subsequent complications over the years.
Coat hangers are the excuse they hang over the head of the dead babies and maimed women. But as is explained by recording artist Fred Hammond, many women never used a coat hanger even when abortion was illegal. They just had a “medical procedure” called a D&C for a “mysterious female ailment,” which was really a baby in the mother’s/patient’s womb.
The abortion industry began saying that they wanted to make abortion legal, safe and rare. They have successes in one: legal. Safe, not so. Ask Tonya. Rare? Is more than 50 million in four decades rare?
As for rare, Planned Parenthood’s annual report just released for the calendar year of 2011 shows that abortions are not rare with a record number of abortions in 2011 with 333,964. Over the last three years (2009-2011) Planned Parenthood has performed nearly one million abortions (995,687)
As for safe, well, I think we’ve covered that. I would just like to mention that there have been over 345 reported deaths linked directly to botched abortions. And that’s just the ones we know of that have been attributed to the abortions and are documented. Many other deaths are attributed to other causes but are actually a result of abortion complications.
This outrage bears repeating over and over—despite the government’s saying that they do not pay for abortions, Planned Parenthood received a record $542 million in taxpayer funding last year. They can spin it any way they want to, but our tax dollars are funding murder by abortion and not just for babies. Their mothers are dying too. Women are being lied to; told that abortions are safe and are a civil right. And our babies are dying.
I’m outraged! We all should be outraged! Recall abortion now!
Alveda C. King is the daughter of the late slain civil rights activist the Rev. A.D. King, and niece of Martin Luther King Jr. She is also a civil rights and pro-life activist, as well as director of African American Outreach for Priests for Life. Click here to visit her blog.
