In a recently published op-ed in Kenosha News entitled, COMMUNITY: Bringing Healing to the Cities Initiative, written by Donna Brendel, the Executive Director at the anti-abortion organization twentyThree61, Brendel highlighted how people of color have abortions at a much higher rate than non-Hispanic white individuals. Brendel used racist ‘pro-life’ rhetoric targeting Black and brown communities to promote her organization’s programs and disguised it as a community initiative. However, women of color are not mission projects for religious zealots and should not be treated as such.

It appears that Brendel targets Black and brown women to participate in twentyThree61’s “abortion healing” retreats. These abortion retreats stem from a false narrative that abortions are something that one needs to heal from mentally and emotionally, despite the American Psychological Association dispelling the fictitious diagnoses of post-abortion syndrome and claims that abortion causes depression. Brendel relies on misleading information about the race and health of people post-abortion and it needs to stop.

Lies and misconceptions about abortion are dangerous and lead to harmful consequences in particular for people of color. Medical misinformation is rampant in these times, and people like Donna Brendel and anti-abortion organizations like twentyThree61 must stop targeting vulnerable communities with lies about the effects of abortion.

For more information on anti-abortion groups like Brendel’s and the harms they cause to our communities, check out our #BadFaithMedicine campaign page with webinars, fact sheets, toolkits, and more to fend off the bad science and abortion stigma near you.