With access to women’s reproductive health care under attack and low-income families and women of color disproportionately affected, many advocates have rightly been concerned that black women are particularly vulnerable. Yes, it’s essential that black women have the choice about whether to conceive and give birth. Not only do black women have to worry about police brutalizing their children, but we also have to fear this violence ourselves. Over a dozen black women were raped and terrorized by the Oklahoma City officer Daniel Holtzclaw, who preyed on them because he thought no one would care about black women. Far too often, compassion for black lives doesn’t extend beyond the womb or to the black women carrying that womb.

Source: New York Times August 09, 2017 22:30 UTC