In recent years, there has been a considerable amount of discussion about how many African Americans agreed with Republicans “on the issues” but still voted Democrat because of the racism that has been pervasive throughout the Republican party for the last half century. I vehemently reject this monolithic notion of Black ideology. What I can say, however, is that–because of the apparent racism of the GOP–the vast majority of Black people vote Democrat regardless of their ideology–that includes most of those in the community who are anti-gay, anti-immigration and/or anti abortion. In politics and the policy process this can present dilemmas. Such is the case with Louisiana district 16 state representative Katrina Jackson.

Rep. Jackson has garnered a great deal of attention in the passed two months for House Bill 388–legislation that she “authored” and sponsored which would, if made law, require physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of the abortion site. Also referred to as the “Safe Abortion Act”, the bill has been marketed as an effort to ensure that women get needed care if they happen to experience complications due to abortions. The only thing is that less than one percent of women who get abortions experience complications and only a fraction of those are serious. Moreover, when asked on several occasions to provide documentation of unsafe abortions being a cause for concern in Louisiana, Jackson has not been able to produce anything. In addition to her failure to provide reciepts, Jackson–in the House Health and Welfare Committee Meeting–resorted to presenting reductionist and inaccurate rhetoric(indcluding a video) about “black genocide”. For those unfamilar with this concept, it is the idea that the sole purpose for the availability of abortions is to prevent black women from giving birth on a mass scale and thus erradicate the black race. While there have been efforts to abridge procreation among African American women–ie. Baltimore politicians offering women Norplant implants in exchange for welfare in the 1990s and the recent efforts to sterilize female prisoners in California–these measures have often been sponsored and supported by individuals who also seek to curtail or eliminate access to abortions. Thus, the conflation of voluntary abortions with forced sterilization is tired and incorrect. At any rate, nothing in Jackson’s presentation provided a basis for the belief that abortions were unsafe in Louisiana.

Weeks later, during hearings regarding a bill that, if passed, will make it illegal for anyone who is affiliated with any organization that is even loosely affiliated with abortion providers from going into schools to provide sex education(Yea. That’s how it goes down here in the Pelican state), Rep Jackson took center stage again when she thanked the bills author for the legislation and explained how she doesn’t want teenage girls to build relationships with sex educators who could possibly refer them to abortion services. This was important because it was Jackson admitting explicitly, for the first time, that she wanted to limit access to abortions whether they are safe or not.

Regardless of–or perhaps because of–her views on abortion, it is perplexing that Jackson would seek to prohibit the state’s youth from learning about their own sexual health and protecting themselves. I say this primarily because, in her district, there were 918 cases of HIV in 2010 and those were just the reported ones. One would think that someone who is representing an area where the situation was so dire would want their constituents to know of any and every mechanism to be safe. NOT. In addition to her supporting legislation that would make sex education more difficult–since Planned Parenthood provides much of the state’s sex education–Katrina also failed to sign a resolution to support the Louisiana AIDS Advocacy Network.

Now to be fair, Katrina Jackson has supported and sponsored a considerable amount of meaningful legislation since being elected in 2012 such as measures that would ensure equal pay for women, lessen the penalties for non violent offenders and reform pay day loan practices. For those efforts, she should be commended. However, her failure to see the big picture is ever frustrating. It is sad that Rep Jackson cannot understand that lack of information about sexual health and family planning(which is about far more than access to abortions) often leads to decisions that drive people into poverty and thus into crime and financial situations where pay day loans become attractive. It is unfortunate that she is not able or willing to think in a complex way. It’s also disheartening that she is pitbulling for special interest groups like the Louisiana Family Forum and Republican politicians who do not support her in regards to issues not concerning abridging sex education and abortion. It is my sincere hope that Katrina will begin to vote and craft legislation based on the needs in her area as opposed to what will score her political points.