Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during the first of two Democratic presidential primary debates hosted by CNN Tuesday, July 30, 2019, at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Last night was the CNN “Climate Town Hall” and it was interminable. I could only bring myself to tolerate a few candidates. I caught the end of Klobuchar and then watched a bloody-eyed Biden ramble through explaining his connections to Big Oil donors. The audience was there for Bernie and Warren and they were only there for Bernie and Warren.

It was the usual climate talk, but what struck me the most was when Bernie Sanders responded to a question about population control. Without hesitation or any sense of self-awareness, Sanders offered up abortion in third world countries as a necessary and legitimate solution to overpopulation.

It was chilling.

In my latest podcast Just Listen to Yourself, I’ve been going through abortion arguments and talking points related to the issue and drawing them out to their logical conclusions. I’m fascinated by the idea of actually parsing out some of our reflexive opinions. In the third and final episode of a series on abortion (published mere moments before Bernie took the stage), I spoke about the argument the progressive left often makes for abortion as a form of “care” for minorities, Black Americans specifically. They often paint opposition to abortion as some form of bigotry.

I find the premise ridiculous. Forget the arguments about Margaret Sanger and the racist roots of Planned Parenthood for just one moment. If you’re curious about what I have to say about that, click on the podcast and you can hear me discuss it at length.

When abortion is painted as charity for a minority/marginalized community, what Bernie and other abortion advocates are telling us is that the world would be better off without us…or at least be better with fewer of us. It blows my mind that any serious, White American could look at Black women and say, “Hey, it’s better for all of us if there are fewer of you. It’s for your own good!”.

And too many of us actually buy it! Then we turn around and complain that we don’t have enough representation in the institutions that make America run. We are literally killing off our political capital. Black women make up 6% of the population and yet account for 35% of abortions. Maybe Planned Parenthood did evolve away from Margaret Sanger’s original mission, but it sure seems pretty damn successful anyway.

Abortion is not a “gift” to the Black community. Abortion steals our capital, our influence and our future. Sometimes it’s hard to feel like that’s not deliberate.

Hear me expound on this issue on this week’s Just Listen to Yourself. Subscribe on iTunes (leave a review!) or listen anywhere you find podcasts.

*Twitter @RealKiraDavis

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