August 30, 2006 08:06 PM UTC

African-American Legislators Rip Beauprez Abortion Claim

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Beauprez issues apology for his remarks.

From the Rocky Mountain News; “I was wrong about the statistic I quoted in a recent interview with Colorado Public Radio and I apologize to the African American Community and anyone else who was offended,” he said in a statement. “I should have verified the statistic before repeating it.”
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Colorado Reps. Terrance Carroll and Rosemary Marshall sent out a joint press release this morning condemning a claim by gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez that “70 percent of African-American pregnancies end in abortion.” Not only does the quote from Beauprez sound bad, the statistic is completely wrong.

Full release below the fold.

African-American leaders call for Beauprez to apologize for careless and extreme claims

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Denver: Leaders of Colorado’s African-American community called on Congressman Bob Beauprez to  apologize for his careless and extreme claim that “70 percent” of African-American “pregnancies end in abortion.”

“Coloradoans deserve better than Beauprez’s disgusting demonstration of ignorance,” stated state Representative Rosemary Marshall. “Beauprez should stop trying to push his anti-abortion agenda at the expense of African-Americans.”

In a Colorado Public Radio interview released August 28, Beauprez argued that “70 percent” of African-American “pregnancies end in abortion.”

Beauprez stated that “in some our ethnic communities we’re seeing very, very high percentages of babies, children, pregnancies end in abortion.” When KCFR asked him to name “which ethnic communities in particular” he was referring to, Beauprez answered, “I’ve seen numbers as high as 70 percent, maybe even more, in the African-American community that I think is just appalling.”

As Colorado Media Matters pointed out, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cites an abortion rate among African-Americans that is a tiny fraction of the “statistic” Beauprez referenced. (colorado.mediamatters.org)

“We call on Beauprez to apologize for his careless statements,” stated state Representative Terrance Carroll. “Our community is sick and tired of folks like Beauprez using the African-American community as a political whipping boy.”

“Beauprez demonstrated his poor judgment last year when he shot off ‘I’ve vacationed in Mexico before.  I know exactly what ‘Mexican time’ is,’” noted Marshall. “At the time Beauprez claimed then that there isn’t a “bigoted, racist, slanderous hair” on his body, yet given his careless record and his complete failure to support issues important to our community I am beginning to wonder.”

Beauprez’s continues to receive failing grades from the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the worst possible grade from the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights for his failure to support issues important to ethnic communities in Congress. (www.votesmart.com)