Roland Warren: Pro-life, not racist

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Wednesday, June 19th. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Nick Eicher.

MARY REICHARD, HOST: And I’m Mary Reichard. Care Net is a network of 1,100 faith-based pregnancy-care centers around the country. Its CEO is Roland Warren. Before Warren took the CEO spot overseeing Care Net in 2012, he served as president of the National Fatherhood Initiative and spent two decades in the corporate world.  

EICHER: Warren is an African American. When Senator Kirsten Gillibrand last week equated pro-life views with racism, Warren posted a response on Facebook. It is worth airing in its entirety. So we’re doing that to end today’s program. This runs about four minutes.

ROLAND WARREN: Hello, Roland Warren here.

I am not a racist.

That’s right. I want to reassure that I am not a racist.  Some of my best friends are black. In fact, some of my family members are black. I love black people. Really.

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering why I feel the need to tell you this.

If you haven’t heard, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, in an interview with the Des Moines Register this week, equated pro-life beliefs with racism.

She said, and I quote, “There’s no moral equivalency when it comes to racism. And I do not think there’s a moral equivalency when it comes to changing laws that deny women reproductive freedom.”

She made these comments to clarify her position that she would never appoint a judge who is pro-life.

In other words, if you are someone like me, who is pro-life, you are morally equivalent to a racist—someone with such dangerous, evil, and immoral beliefs that you should be disqualified from serving in public office.

Now, I’m sure it’s not hard for you to see that calling me a racist is pretty silly. Because, let’s think about what real racists actually did.

They dehumanized people who looked like me. They enslaved people who looked like me. They lynched people who looked like me. They denied people the right to vote to people who looked like me. In short, racists denied people who looked like me the blessings of liberty—life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

Of course, the irony here is that the first and foremost of blessings, is life. Yet, Gillibrand says that people who seek to protect lives who look like me are like racists. Yes, I am just as confused as you are.

And the problems with equating a pro-life worldview with racism don’t end there.

The fact is, racists didn’t want people who look like me to even exist. And, here’s the thing. Of all the policies that were enacted and atrocities they committed, none have had more of an impact in eliminating people who look like me than abortion.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly half of all pregnancies among black women end in abortion. In all, over 19 million unborn black children have been aborted since Roe v. Wade was decided in 1973. That’s about 35 percent of those aborted, but people who look like me are only 12 percent of the population. Talk about a “disparate impact”!

But again, according to Gillibrand’s logic, if you are against abortion, you are the one who has to change. So, if Senator Gillibrand had her way, the only judges who would be appointed are the ones who support the ending of lives in the womb, of people who look like me.

And that is supposed to create a better outcome for my community and protect my community? Well, that’s a kind of “protection” we just don’t need.

But the bigger point here that Gillibrand and many others miss is that this isn’t about race—it’s about life. And the sanctity of life knows no color. All human life is precious and sacred, and each and every one of us is made in the image of God. We are all worthy of protection—inside and outside the womb—and should be given the opportunity to enjoy the blessings of liberty.

My hope and prayer is that folks like Senator Gillibrand and others who equate pro-life beliefs with evil beliefs like racism will come to realize this.

And even if they don’t agree with us, maybe they’ll at least acknowledge that our passion to defend life is not about denying freedoms, but ensuring them, especially for the most vulnerable who look like me and who look like you.

Until, next time, may God bless you daily as you serve him faithfully.

To watch the full video of Roland Warren’s remarks, visit Care Net’s website.

(Photo/Care Net) 

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