Last week, at the bottom of one of my morning posts, there were a few paragraphs about a story I had just read, calling for a reversal of Roe v. Wade in the name of the black community - which accounts for far more abortions than it's percentage of the U.S. population.

One again, if you follow my Twitter feed, you saw that I had a lengthy conversation on Friday, with one friend from back in Seattle, that was joined by a couple of other people I have never met. As a result, I want to take a second look..

The most important things that must be understood when I write about this are as follows:

• I think abortion is awful. In so many cases it is a sick form of birth control. It is far too prevalent in our society. Whether you believe that an actual human life is being killed or not, the percentage of mothers who regret having abortions is high and the idea that anyone really benefits from it is beyond my grasp.
• However, let me be clear: I do not support reversing Roe v. Wade and I never will. This is not political correctness, it is a deep-rooted belief in American values. Later in the post I will expand on this thought, but the simple part is that in the United States of America, no law can be created that would impede the natural right of a person to exercise their own will, given that their will does not impede the rights of another person. Again, we can have an argument about what constitutes "life", but in this country the rights of the mother have always come before those of an unborn child.

In the post, I made a specific reference to the "religious right," because I recall that the person quoted in the original story was using God and Scripture as one reason to oppose abortion. Her other reason, the attempt at humanizing the cause, was to say, in essence, that genocide was occurring in the black community, with some 18 million babies believed to have been aborted since Roe v. Wade.

The reason I felt the comment was designed to score political points was because of how it was framed. The speaker had a point she wanted to get across about her opposition of abortion, because of her religion, and used a humanizing effect to stir emotion. Her use of the black community, however, was secondary to it just be a moral issue, in which God does not condone abortion. This, however, is not my chief concern.

I agree that abortion has hit the black community hard. I will not go so far as to say that organizations like Planned Parenthood prey on the black community or that federally-backed non-profits target the community to "hold it down," as the woman suggested. The black community can certainly be considered an Endangered Species, as this site suggests, but abortion is not the chief cause, in my opinion. As a matter of fact, I'd argue abortion an effect, not a cause at all. In addition, making abortion illegal will not solve the root cause of abortion: teen pregnancy.

Simply put, if you want abortion rates to shrink, find ways to cut down teen pregnancy. One of the ways that would be extremely successful is through religion. Religious groups that spend so much time in Washington, lobbying for the Stupack amendment should be spending just as much time in communities, helping youth meet Jesus Christ. In my opinion, whether you believe in God or not, religious groups have a greater influence than both schools and, in the black community, parents often times. Their ability to affect real change is invaluable.

Now, obviously we need to be realistic here. These numbers are not going to come down quickly or significantly, anytime soon at least. But over time, as the culture changes, where teen pregnancy is no longer a norm, the advancement of the community will be the cause of lowered rates. That will likely take a generation.

But, by building a culture where teen pregnancy is lessened, not only do we cut abortions, we cut down on fatherless homes where 16-year old boys are not in the position to leave their pregnant girlfriends. We cut down on students who drop out of schools because of pregnancy (or other causes), leading them to dead end jobs and gangs, virtually ending their chance at future success. And we not only cut that down in the current generation, we do it in the next, where children aren't born into families on welfare with no real parental support or with parent(s) who simply are not ready to hold that title.

The argument I always run into is that having an abortion is directly against Christianity. I am obviously never going to have one. But not everyone in this country is Christian. And in this country, religious beliefs should not define our laws (regardless of what Pastor Ken Hutcherson, who I've seen speak on that topic specifically, says). They cannot define our laws. Further, that argument does not serve to further the goal that I am trying to accomplish - stopping teen pregnancy.

Can Planned Parenthood be better at preventing pregnancy? Absolutely. As an organization I don't think it actually reaches into the community well enough. Once again, an opportunity for religious groups to take on that role. Another great way would be to have teachers who grew up in the community, educating in classrooms about the pitfalls of teen pregnancy. And yes, this is where the government can help, through programs that help blacks, especially from poor communities, become successful teachers. Student loan forgiveness is just part of that. It should noted that I came from a poor community and have a government-paid-for-education, plus some loans. Work in public service can have those paid for.

Abortion is a major issue that needs attention. But by waiting to solve it at the endpoint, where the mother is walking into the clinic, we fail at actually creating positive outcomes. We have to solve it before conception.

Now, what I am about to say is sure to elicit some reaction, that I'm looking forward to hearing. Abortion is not the only "genocide" in the black community. So many Christians that I know are for the death penalty, a fact that has always blown my mind, given that the same Bible that decries abortion says that God shall be the judge and the punisher. If someone can bring me the verse that says sticking a needle into a murderer is biblical, please do so.

While you're at it, look up the number of black men murdered by hand guns in the same time period since Roe v. Wade. The amount put to death or awaiting it for capital crimes in the same time period. Contrast those numbers with the graduation rates from our inner-city schools.

Is abortion our number one issue? Or could abortion be thwarted by better enforced gun laws, better public education (not increased funding, but better used dollars) and black-owned, community-building small businesses? In short, will a better community cute abortion rates?

The arguments for gun rights are many and compelling. However, how many animals were shot with hand guns last year? Now how many black men? Blaming the federal government for a systematic wipeout of the black community through abortion is ignoring the actions of our own community in doing the same through violent crime. Not only are we killing each other, but those who do the killing, also black, are going to jail for long periods of time, or to die. What does that leave? Single, teenage, mothers.

There is more than one "genocide" in the black community. When I hear two arguments: a) the guns that were used to kill in the black community were obtained illegally (maybe now, but initially someone bought them legally), and there is this "liberal mindset" that says that you should have to "need" something for it to be legal, I think only that we are looking for loopholes around the real problem.

What is a handgun used for in Washington, D.C? Baltimore? Detroit? New Orleans? Certainly not hunting. Not animals at least. And we aren't protecting anything but turf. But it is true that, in the end, people kill people, meaning a mindset change is what is really necessary. A community change.

So, it is as I said. We can use superficial, surface solutions (banning abortions and handguns, affirmative action), or we can really attack the problem, through education, through outreach, through support, three things this community sorely lacks. And given that it is going to take at least a generation, let's actually start solving the problem, through a combination of outside support and inside responsibility.

It doesn't happen in the newspaper, the internet or Washington. It happens in classrooms, in homes, in community centers and in the streets. And the goal has to be improving the black community, not using it.