To the Editors:

I would like to thank the Oberlin Review for their agreement to cover the Oberlin Pro-Life Union of Students, OPLUS’s first public event ever. I had an egregious problem with the reporting of the Oberlin Review last semester, but I decided to bury the proverbial hatchet and give them another chance since this year the Review has new staff members. But for the sake of discouraging ignorance on this campus, I feel that I must take issue with the article that was written about our event.

First of all, the correct title for the presentation was “Reproductive Racism: the Legacy of The Negro Project.” The writer, Josh Keating, only used the subtitle, “The Legacy of The Negro Project.” As evidenced by a couple notes attached next to our flyers in the new science center which begin, “This flyer is a misrepresentation of the historical issues of reproductive rights for women of color and low-income communities” I know that people on this campus had issues with the title. But OPLUS did not invent this title.

And as a woman of Color, I think Ms. Furlow has an absolute right to talk about reproductive racism. The title was purposefully provocative in order to spur people to come to the event and engage with Ms. Furlow on the issues. Perhaps she did only cover the topic of The Negro Project in passing in Mr. Keating’s estimation, but if the topic had been “Reproductive Ableism,” ask yourself if as many people would’ve showed up.

In my opinion, and I feel that I am allowed to give one since this is an editorial unlike a news article, people would not. How many times have you heard someone say “That is so retarded” when referring to a situation that they find dissatisfactory or say “You are so retarded” when referring to someone who is obviously not mentally disabled?

Now, suppose you have several papers due the next day that you have not started on. Would you say, “That is so African-American.” Now, I’m not trying to get into the business of making hierarchies of oppression, but just think about it. And see the movie Radio in the theatres now because to some degree, Hollywood actually got it right in that movie because it gives agency to a mentally challenged person.

Now, concerning the misquoting. Mr. Keating wrote, “She also criticized modern contraception methods.” I quote her when I say that ‘People believe condoms will stop AIDS.’ “It’s simply not true.”

I went back and watched the videotape we made of Ms. Furlow’s presentation, and I suggest anyone who did not see the presentation or does not believe me to request the videotape from OPLUS. She was talking about HPV, human papilloma virus, more commonly known as genital warts. I just had that confirmed from Sarah Colvario, from Family Planning Services of Lorain County, a pro-choice organization, that HPV can be transmitted through simple skin-to-skin contact.

Now, honestly, how do condoms really protect against that? Obviously, condoms can prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, although they do have a significant failure rate (especially if not used properly), but Ms. Furlow was more concerned about the other STIs that can be transmitted. Isn’t that why SIC dubs one of the most famous nights, Safer Sex Night, because the only absolutely safe sex is no sex (and this gets more complicated when we try to define sex)?

Secondly, Mr. Keating called the practice that the Catholic Church currently promotes which Ms. Furlow talked about the “rhythm method.” No, sorry, you’re wrong.
She also talked about “Natural Family Planning.” The rhythm method does have some significant flaws as it is based on a woman’s cycle, which may be irregular. Natural Family Planning is more scientific which requires taking a woman’s temperature in the morning to see if she is ovulating. If I were a Biology major, I might be able to go into more detail on that.

Thirdly, the statistic she quoted about 32 percent of abortions refers specifically to Black women, and not to all women of color.

Again, I encourage all of y’all to just watch the video rather than read an obviously slanted news article.

--Rick Hoffman
Treasurer
Oberlin Pro-Life Union
of Students (OPLUS)

--Sylvia Johnson
Publicist for Ms. Akua Furlow