More than 25 black pastors signed a letter sent Friday to Democrat Georgia Senate candidate Raphael Warnock, calling on him to change his radical stance on abortion which, they stated, is founded on racism.
In the letter, the pastors wrote that, while they “applaud” Warnock’s advocacy for justice and social reform, they cannot abide by his statements that he is a “pro-choice pastor,” one who will “always fight for reproductive justice,” and believes abortion is an exercise in “human agency and freedom.”
The pastors asserted:
We believe these statements represent grave errors of judgment and a lapse in pastoral responsibility, and we entreat you to reconsider them. As a Christian pastor and as a Black leader, you have a duty to renounce 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.
In an interview with WGAU’s Tim Bryant in August, Warnock said abortion is “consistent with” his philosophy as a Christian minister.
The megachurch pastor, who is attempting to unseat Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) in the Georgia Senate runoff election in January, does not support any restrictions on abortion, and has said such a position fits in with his Christian world view because he has adopted the abortion industry narrative that abortion is health care.
“I believe that healthcare is a human right,” Warnock told Bryant. “And I believe that it is something that the richest nation in the world provides for its citizens, and for me reproductive justice is consistent with my commitment to that.”
“I believe unequivocally in a woman’s right to choose, and that the decision is something that we don’t want government engaged in – that’s between her and her doctor and her minister,” he said, adding that, during his campaign, he has been “focused on women’s health, women’s choice, reproductive justice. That is consistent with my view as a Christian minister. And I will fight for it.”
When Bryant asked him, “Do you think it’s consistent with God’s view – that God endorses the millions of abortions we’ve had in this country since Roe v. Wade?” Warnock replied, “I think that human agency and freedom is consistent with my view as a minister.”
The pastors further criticized Warnock for using the language of the abortion industry, which has endorsed him as a U.S. Senate candidate.
“Couching abortion in the language of “reproductive justice” may be savvy marketing, but killing an innocent human life has nothing to do either with reproduction or with justice,” they observed. “Do American adults really need another public voice urging them to put their short-term desires ahead of the needs of their children?”
The faith leaders underscored for Warnock the racist foundation of the abortion industry and its devastating effects on the black community.
“The pro-abortion movement in America has been characterized by racism and white supremacy since its inception,” they wrote. “And to this day, abortion continues to unequally and disproportionately harm Black lives, perpetuating systemic racism.”
The pastors noted that while black women comprise 13 percent of the female population, they represent 36 percent of all abortions.
“[A]nd Black women are almost five times more likely than their white counterparts to receive an abortion,” they continued. “In some cities across the country, more Black children are aborted every year than are born alive.”
“Unborn Black, Brown and White lives are so much more than clumps of cells, burdensome inconveniences, or health problems,” the pastors concluded to Warnock. “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.”