After U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's controversial comments, Care Net President & CEO Roland Warren releases video on Facebook explaining why he's not a racist

NEWS PROVIDED BY
Care Net
June 17, 2019

LANSDOWNE, Va., June 17, 2019 /Standard Newswire/ -- The leader of one of America's largest pro-life organizations today reacted to U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's (D-NY) controversial remarks comparing pro-life beliefs to racism – and suggesting pro-life views are "not acceptable."

"I am not a racist," said Roland Warren, president and CEO of Care Net (www.care-net.org), and an African American. "This is not about race – it's about life. And the sanctity of life knows no color."

Care Net is a faith-based pro-life organization with 1,100 affiliated pregnancy centers across North America.

Gillibrand, who is pro-choice, responded to questions during an interview earlier this week with the Des Moines Register about the appointment of judges and pro-life views:

"I think there's some issues that have such moral clarity that we have as a society decided that the other side is not acceptable. Imagine saying that it's okay to appoint a judge who’s racist or anti-Semitic or homophobic," said Gillibrand, a U.S. presidential hopeful in 2020.

The 52-year old senator's comments unleashed a thoughtful, but hard-hitting response from Warren, who released a video on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2219150901729716).

"[Gillibrand] equated pro-life beliefs with racism," Warren said. "In other words, if you are someone like me who is pro-life, you are morally equivalent to a racist, with such dangerous, evil, and immoral beliefs that you should not be qualified for public office."

Gillibrand is known for her staunch support for abortion rights and is working to mount a campaign for president in 2020. Warren is hopeful that his response will reduce the likelihood of pro-choice public figures using the pain of past racism towards the black community to justify abortion.

"The irony is that the first and foremost blessing of liberty is life," Warren said. "Yet, Senator Gillibrand says that people who seek to protect lives who look like me are like racists.... The problems with equating a pro-life worldview with racism do not end there. Racists did not want people who look like me to even exist."

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), nearly half of all pregnancies among black women end in abortion. More than 19 million unborn black babies have been aborted since the landmark Roe v Wade decision that established abortion as a legal right in 1973, Warren said.

"According to Senator Gillibrand's logic, if you're the one against abortion, then you have to change," said Warren. "If [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. That's supposed to create a better outcome for (the black) community and protect my community?"

Warren said Care Net would continue to speak out for the unborn. "All human life is precious and sacred. We are worthy of protection inside and outside the womb, and should be given the opportunity to enjoy the blessings of liberty. Our passion to defend life is not about denying freedoms, but ensuring them, especially for the most vulnerable."

Care Net (www.care-net.org) is a faith-based organization with 1,100 affiliated life-affirming pregnancy centers across America, promoting a "Pro Abundant Life" vision. Roland C. Warren, president and CEO of Care Net, grew up in a single-parent home, was the first member of his family to attend college, and graduated from Princeton University. Roland worked 20 years in the corporate world (IBM, Pepsi, and Goldman Sachs) and served 11 years as president of the National Fatherhood Initiative before joining Care Net in 2012.

SOURCE Care Net

CONTACT: Vincent DiCaro, 703-554-8741, vdicaro@care-net.org