Editor’s note: Read all of Rewire’s coverage of this racist anti-choice campaign.

In recent weeks, anti-choice advocates across the country have used high rates of abortion among African-American women to re-new old charges of genocide and racial discrimination by reproductive health providers.  These myths do far more harm than good, as they are used to deny women, particularly low-income women, access to essential reproductive health care and do not address the very real issues of racism, poverty, and ill-health faced by communities of color.

On Tuesday, March 9th, 2010, Rewire hosted an audio media conference with experts and advocates working to combat these myths and correct the record on reproductive and sexual health needs of all women.

Speakers included:

Dr. Loretta Ross, National Coordinator of SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective.  Dr. Ross was the founder and former Executive Director of the National Center for Human Rights Education (NCHRE), a training and resource center for grassroots activists on using human rights education to address social injustices in the United States.

Dr. Melissa Gilliam, an expert in pediatric and adolescent gynecology at the University of Chicago Medical Center, and an active researcher.  Dr. Gilliam recently ended her term as Chair of the Board of the Guttmacher Institute, where she continues to serve as a board member.

Dr. Vanessa Cullins, vice president for medical affairs at Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA), where she is responsible for leadership and administration of the Medical Affairs Division. Dr. Cullins has extensive clinical and administrative experience in reproductive health. Prior to joining Planned Parenthood Federation of America, she served as vice president and medical director of EngenderHealth, where she provided oversight and direction of technical teams responsible for providing technical support for reproductive health service delivery in over 25 countries.

Listen to the media conference call here:

Links to recently published articles on this issue can be found here:

• Women of Color and the Anti-Choice Focus on Eugenics, by Pamela Merritt
• Loretta Ross On Anti-Choicers, the Media, and Race, by Cindy Cooper
• Convictions to Action: Lessons from Margaret Sanger, by Gloria Feldt
• Stop Perpetuating Myths About Black Women and Abortion, by Kelly Robinson
• Worried About Women of Color? Thanks, But No Thanks, Anti-Choicers. We’ve Got It Covered, by Miriam Perez
• Black Abortion: Breaking the Silence, by Maame-Mensima Horne
• The Facts About Abortion Rates Among Women of Color, by Susan Cohen