By Mallika Rao
Medill News Service

WASHINGTON – A coalition of black pastors and community leaders staked out the Democratic and Republican national headquarters’ Thursday, demanding that both parties return any financial donations from Planned Parenthood and refuse any future ones.

“We represent the new black church,” said Henry Jackson, pastor of Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, Md. “One that is not locked into any political party’s agenda, but believes it should call into accountability both parties to honor the needs of our community and the word of God.”

The Democratic National Committee has accepted $15,000 from Planned Parenthood. Its counterpart, the Republican National Committee, has received nothing from the family planning group this campaign year, according to Douglas Weber at the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit watchdog group.

Rev. Jackson and others referenced allegations of racial targeting made recently against Planned Parenthood by a UCLA anti-abortion magazine, the Advocate. The magazine released transcripts of a phone conversation in which a Planned Parenthood administrator in Idaho appears to accept a donation earmarked for a black woman’s abortion. In fact, the call was made by a magazine reporter, posing as a donor anxious to control the black population.

Deceptive phone calls made by Advocate reporters were so “unprofessional” that they left the Planned Parenthood local staffs unsure of how to respond and misled into seeming complicity, according to a Planned Parenthood statement.

“We have taken action to ensure that all of our employees understand their responsibility to communicate clearly with donors about the fact that we do not accept donations from people or organizations whose values are opposed to ours,” the statement reads.