By Pastor Shelia Olive

Since the fall of Roe v. Wace, wealthy Democratic elites have financed and run campaigns in many states across the nation trying to codify and legalize late-term abortion in state constitutions.

The guise of protecting “reproductive freedom” obscures a troubling reality, prompting moral scrutiny. As a black pastor, I’m particularly obligated to ask who these policies affect the most and why.

For my community, the stakes are dire. Amid discussions of disparate healthcare outcomes, from maternal mortality to access barriers, the glaring statistics on abortion are often overlooked. In New Jersey, where the abortion rate disproportionately affects black women, Congressman Josh Gottheimer’s recent proposal to shut down pregnancy resource centers threatens to exacerbate this crisis.

Gottheimer’s pledge to shut down these centers, which provide vital resources like free diapers and formula, is confounding. Despite his advocacy for affordable childcare, this move signals a troubling bias against volunteer non-profits aiding pregnant women and newborns, particularly those from marginalized black and brown communities.

Under the banner of choice, Gottheimer and the Democratic establishment champion abortion while neglecting alternative avenues of support. By dismantling organizations offering tangible options beyond abortion, they betray the very essence of choice, leaving black women disproportionately affected.

Shouldn’t genuine support for bodily autonomy encompass avenues beyond abortion? What happened to the party that advocated “safe, legal, and rare” abortions to the one that now celebrates abortion as a fundamental measure of women’s progress?

Is it a disdain for motherhood or, more insidiously, a disregard for black lives?

Democrats tell us that “Black Lives Matter” is a core of our party’s policy agenda.

If that’s true, it’s time for my Congressman Josh Gottheimer to reevaluate his asinine opposition to volunteers providing free diapers and formula to expectant black mothers across the Garden State.