Planned Parenthood targets African American babies for abortion. That’s the message of an aggressive new marketing campaign by an Austin-based nonprofit that is backed by considerable resources and powerful political allies.

“Genocide is a strong word, but it’s almost like that,” said Brian Follett, founder of Heroic Media, a faith-based anti-abortion organization created in April 2004 as the Majella Society.

Using celebrity speakers such as Sarah Palin and polished advertising via billboard, TV and the Internet, Heroic’s mission is to reduce the number of abortions by referring women to “crisis pregnancy resource centers,” charities (usually faith-based) that counsel pregnant women against abortion.

The women need “someone to sit down with them, put an arm around them and share with them that other people have been through these crisis pregnancies before, and to meet their social needs,” Follett said.

Palin and Gov. Rick Perry both appeared at a Dallas fundraiser last month to raise money for Follett’s group. Organizations like Planned Parenthood make women feel inferior by saying they can’t handle motherhood, Palin said at the time.“I’m very grateful for [Heroic Media] telling young women that they are strong enough,” she said.

The centers Heroic Media is promoting are supported with taxpayer funds.

In 2009, Texas legislators reserved $2.5 million in federal funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, plus $1.5 million in general state revenue, for pregnancy centers, administered by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, primarily through the Texas Pregnancy Care Network.

Once the funds reach the centers, it is unclear how the money is spent.

One legislative staffer said it doesn’t appear that Heroic receives public funds. Internal Revenue Service documents also do not indicate that Heroic received payments as a contractor for those centers.

“What we were told by HHSC is that there’s no funding for outreach or media services,” said Dorothy Browne, chief of staff for state Rep. Elliott Naishtat, D-Austin, who is vice chair for the House Public Health Committee and is also on the Human Services Committee.

Heroic takes aim at African Americans, Planned Parenthood

Until now, Heroic’s ads have been relatively benign, usually featuring an image of a woman, terms such as “pregnant?” and “scared?” and a toll-free number that directs to a network of pregnancy centers. The organization’s desired audience is women ages 18-34, though it has a separate website aimed at teens.

Now, however, as the organization branches out beyond heavily Hispanic Texas cities into urban areas nationwide, Heroic has begun tailoring its ads to African Americans, and in north Florida at least, aiming them directly at Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Heroic recently posted a billboard in Jacksonville, Florida, depicting a pregnant African-American woman and the message: “The most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb.”

A toned-down version of the campaign that does not explicitly mention African Americans or Planned Parenthood is running in Austin and Houston.

According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data for 2006, African Americans have abortions at about three times the rate as whites, though both populations have seen a comparable decline in the procedures since 1990. In 2006, African American women had 459 abortions per 1,000 live births, while whites had 162 abortions per 1,000 live births.

“We have several very prominent African American leaders. Why they’re not speaking up about this issue with the African American population declining is just, it’s hard for me to fathom,” Follett said.

Follett cites Dallas pastor Stephen Broden — who also spoke at the Heroic event in Dallas that featured Palin and Perry — as saying the total fertility rate (the number of births women would have in their lifetime according to the birth rate for the specific year) for African Americans was less than 1.

But according to 2006 data, African Americans had a total fertility rate of 2.155, more than whites’ rate of 2.096. Women of Hispanic ethnicity had a total fertility rate of 2.960. (Note: the Census records calculate total fertility rates according to births per 1,000 women.)

Broden has long been a vocal critic of Planned Parenthood, maintaining that founder Margaret Sanger’s intention was to abort African American babies. However, it was his statement that violent overthrow of the government was “on the table” if elections did not bring about change that led the Dallas Morning News to withdraw its endorsement of him in his 2010 GOP congressional bid against U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, despite Johnson’s embroilment in a scholarship scandal.

Sarah Wheat, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood in Austin, said African Americans’ higher abortion ratio stems from more unintended pregnancies due to socioeconomic factors. She added that Planned Parenthood clinics tend to be located near minority communities because the nonprofit tries to locate its services where they will be accessible to low-income clients who are more likely not to have health insurance.

Rochelle Tofoya, Houston spokesperson for Planned Parenthood, likewise countered that the statements made in Heroic’s marketing campaign are nothing new.

“Claims about Planned Parenthood and racism are just standard rhetoric from anti-choice organizations that have no merit,” she said.

When Planned Parenthood opened its new Houston headquarters recently, some critics accused the organization of intentially placing the facility near minority neighborhoods. Tofoya said, rather, that the facility was strategically located on the busy I-45 corridor to allow clients easy access to the clinic.

Tofoya and Wheat also both pointed out that, unlike Planned Parenthood clinics, the pregnancy centers Heroic promotes do not offer general health care services or birth control options.

“Where do the 300,000 women who come to Planned Parenthood in Texas every year go to get basic health services like birth control, cervical cancer screenings, physical exams, HIV tests?” said Wheat.

(Image by: Matt Mahurin)