Black pro-life activist Elizabeth Parker filmed an interview for an abortion-centered episode of “United Shades Of America” with Kamau Bell, but CNN reportedly left her entire segment on the cutting room floor.
Parker, who works for Students for Life of America traveled at her own expense from Nashville to Jackson, Mississippi, to film the interview. It was only after the premiere aired on May 19 that she became aware that her interview, as well as most of the other footage showing pro-life advocates, had been cut from the final show.
“I’m very disappointed at the dishonesty exhibited by the people who asked me to take time out of my schedule to do this project,” Elizabeth commented in a piece published at SFLA’s website. “They said that the goal of the episode was to take a look at both sides of the abortion debate. I went, gave them my time, and got cut for my trouble – as did the rest of the pro-life invitees. Clearly, they only wanted to portray abortion positively.”
Bell’s personal opinions on the subject were clearly laid out in his Twitter feed:
TONITE @ 10p ET / 7p PT on #UnitedShades on @CNN, I’m learning about #reproductivejustice & #ReproductiveRights from the people who know the most & are on the frontlines & fighting the good fight. I’ll be livetweeting w/ the folks. Join us! #AlabamaAbortionBan pic.twitter.com/Q2bYQGdjyH
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) May 19, 2019
That was @smartstatistic and her organization is @FundMSabortions. You can donate here: https://t.co/Qaw8Muj7zk #UnitedShades https://t.co/F6RJODkQyg
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) May 20, 2019
Sounds like @GovParsonMO is just jealous all these other governors get to meet the @ACLU. Welp Gov, now you get your chance. They’re gonna make you famous. ACLU comin’ yo. #StopTheBans https://t.co/egwOd2z4bG
— W. Kamau Bell (@wkamaubell) May 24, 2019
Most of the show featured abortion advocates, including black abortionist Willie Parker, who calls his work in minority communities “God’s work,” along with stories about how difficult it is to get abortions in Mississippi. (RELATED: Crowd Cheers As Democrat Rep. Jackie Speier Shouts Her Abortion)
If you missed the amazing Laurie Bertram Roberts (@smartstatistic, ED of @FundMSabortions) on #UnitedShadesofAmerica with @wkamaubell last week you can see the episode again on @CNN on Saturday at 9:00PM ET https://t.co/5BVpjp0wSv
— NNAF Abortion Funds (@AbortionFunds) May 24, 2019
SFLA President Kristan Hawkins admitted that she wasn’t surprised by the turn of events, but she was disappointed. “The media are constantly bending over backwards to portray abortion in a positive light, aided and abetted by pro-abortion politicians with Planned Parenthood money in their pockets. We hope the next media opportunity that comes our way is more respectful of our time and more interested in taking a balanced look at the issue,” she said.
“Elizabeth tells the truth about abortion to her generation, following in the footsteps of her parents who for years have operated a pregnancy care center to help young mothers in Nashville,” Hawkins added. “Not to mention, given the extremely high loss of African-American life to abortion, Elizabeth was an important part of this story on how abortion impacts this community. Choosing to highlight the pro-abortion figure instead was no accident.”
