Washington, D.C. (CNSNews.com) - A group of black pro-lifers joined a protest outside a Planned Parenthood clinic in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, calling for an end to federal funding of the abortion provider and expressing their opposition to Sen. Barack Obama's (D-Ill.) pro-abortion stance.

"As Christians, we cannot vote for a man based on his skin color, but, as Dr. King has said to us, on the content of his character," the Rev. Stephen Broden, pastor of the Fair Park Bible Fellowship Church in Dallas , Texas , told Cybercast News Service .

"If (Obama) supports abortion, which is a scourge of our community, which is devastating our community, then we cannot, we must not, support him," Broden added.

Broden was joined by other black pastors, leaders, and community and youth activists at the event, which was organized by Students for Life of America.

The rally was in response to recent reports by a student publication at UCLA which released recorded telephone conversations in which a purported donor offered to make contributions for race-targeted abortions to some Planned Parenthood offices and representatives of those offices agreed to accept them. Planned Parenthood later apologized, stating it was not their policy to accept race-targeted donations.

"This is a race issue," Jesse Lee Peterson, president of the Brotherhood for a New Destiny (BOND), told Cybercast News Service . "(Planned Parenthood founder) Margaret Sanger was a racist. Her plans were to wipe out the quote-unquote under class. Planned Parenthood is carrying out her wishes even in 2008 and we have to do something about it."

Day Gardner, president of the National Black Pro-Life Union, said at the rally that her organization drafted a letter to Obama requesting that he not accept any campaign contributions from Planned Parenthood and that Congress should investigate the business practices of Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers.

The letter also asked Obama to oppose federal funding of the abortion provider, which totals more than $300 million a year. The letter is signed by dozens of leaders from black churches and organizations.

"Abortion can be uniquely tied to racism in America and I'm committed to fighting both," said Catherine Davis, legislative director for the Network of Politically Active Christians.

Claude Allen of the Massachusetts-based Gerard Health Foundation, who formerly served as domestic policy adviser to President Bush, said if blacks knew how destructive abortion is to their community the outrage would be more widespread.

"If you ask the question, how many people died in the Holocaust, I think the estimate is about 6 million," Allen said. "If you ask how many Africans were killed during the middle passage, estimates range between 11 and 13 million. If you ask, since 1973, how many African American babies have been slaughtered in this country, it would be a shocking number. It's greater than 15 million."

Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) told the crowd that he was honored to be a part of the event and cited the courage it took to stand up to Planned Parenthood.

"I know that some of you are descendants of people who lived in slavery under another Supreme Court decision in this country called Dread Scott," Franks said. "It took a civil war to change that."

"But I believe America will be the country that will turn the tide on the killing of the unborn across the world."



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