Beauprez's words on abortion bashed by black legislators

Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News

Published August 30, 2006 at midnight

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Congressman Bob Beauprez was denounced by state legislators today for comments he made in a recent radio interview about black pregnancies and abortion.

"In some of our ethnic communities, we're seeing very, very high percentages of babies, children, pregnancies end in abortion," Beauprez said in an interview broadcast on Colorado Public Radio. "I've seen numbers as high as 70 percent, maybe even more, in the African-American community that I think is just appalling."

That figure was immediately challenged by black legislators, who said the rate of abortion in the black community is nowhere near that high.

"Coloradans deserve better than Beauprez's disgusting demonstration of ignorance," state Rep. Rosemary Marshall said in a statement. "Beauprez should stop trying to push his anti-abortion agenda at the expense of African-Americans."

Beauprez apologized this afternoon for his comment.

"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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