Family Life

02.25.11 | Sarah Harnisch

Thursday night, crews removed a pro-life billboard that was causing serious controversy in New York City.  The billboard read "the most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb."
  Reverend Al Sharpton says it went too far. He said "you don't have the right to offend us, and you don't have the right to frame it in a racial context." The billboard was supposed to stay up for 3 weeks. It was created by the Texas-based group "Life Always," who says they wanted to draw attention to rising abortion rates in the black community.
    Despite the racial nature of the board, a lot of black churches in New York City stood firmly behind the message. They said they weren't offended. Pastor Michael Faulkner says "60 percent of all pregnancies, black pregnancies in New York City, end in abortion. That is abysmal. That is horrible. We should be protesting that." The advertising group that allowed the billboard space is the group that pulled the ad. They say they yanked it not because they felt the message was too harsh-- but rather, because protests scheduled for today could have turned violent.