- Pro-life activist Abby Johnson said in a video Thursday that she thinks police would be smart to profile her adopted biracial son when he grows up.
- The former Planned Parenthood clinic director who is now a pro-life activist said that statistically her brown son is more likely to commit a crime than her white sons.
- Former NFL player Benjamin Watson called the video “pure trash,” but Johnson later doubled down saying she doesn’t regret posting the video.
Outspoken pro-life activist Abby Johnson said in a video released Thursday she would be fine with police officers profiling her biracial son when he grows because her “brown son is more likely to commit a violent offense” than her white sons.
Johnson began the video, which is entitled “My thoughts on fatherhood,” by saying she can no longer be silent on problems facing the Black community because one of her eight children is biracial. Johnson and her husband Doug adopted the boy in 2015 from a friend who wasn’t prepared for a child, according to a 2016 blog post that Doug wrote.
“He is just, in my opinion, the most adorable little brown boy you will ever see in your life,” Johnson said of her adopted son in the video. “He looks like he has a perpetual tan. He has the most gorgeous hair on the planet.”
She added: “But one day he’s going to grow up and he’s going to be a tall, probably sort of large, intimidating-looking, maybe, brown man. And my other boys are probably going to look like nerdy white guys.”
Johnson said that she realizes that when her kids grow up, she will need to have a different conversation with her biracial son when it comes to interactions with the police. However, she said she isn’t angry that she will need to have that conversation. (RELATED: SCOTUS Abortion Case May Be In The Hands Of Chief Justice Roberts)
Abby and Doug Johnson attend the Unplanned Red Carpet Premiere on March 18, 2019 in Hollywood, California. (Photo: Maury Phillips/Getty Images for Unplanned Movie, LLC)
“Because of the statistics that these police officers know in their head, they’re going to know that statistically, my brown son is more likely to commit a violent offense over my white sons,” Johnson said.
Johnson continued: “So the fact that in his head he would be more careful around my brown son than my white son. That doesn’t actually make me angry. That makes that police officer smart because of statistics.”
Johnson clarified that she would be angry if her son was unjustly mistreated by the police, but wouldn’t be angry if police were on high alert around him. She also said that she will need to have a conversation with her son about how to act around police officers.
“I’m going to have to talk to him about how to behave when he gets pulled over and how to be maybe extra cautious when he gets pulled over as an adult,” she said. “How he walks down the street, how he talks to a police officer if he’s approached by a police officer. I get that.”
Former NFL player Benjamin Watson responded to Johnson’s video saying it was “pure trash.” Watson, who is himself a pro-life advocate, said he hoped to speak with Johnson soon.
That was pure trash. And I’m glad I saw it becuase now I know. Feeling for her son right now. Hope to speak with her soon
— Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) June 26, 2020
Johnson responded to Watson’s tweet saying, “You can call anytime. I’m happy to talk.”
Johnson deleted her tweet with the video, but the video remains on YouTube. She posted another video Friday doubling down on her message.
“Everything I said was actually right on. Everything I said was correct,” she said.
Johnson worked at Planned Parenthood for eight years, rising to the level of clinic director, because of her desire to serve women in crisis, according to her website. After witnessing an abortion in 2009, she decided to quit and over the next decade became a leading voice in the pro-life movement.
She wrote the 2019 book “Unplanned,” in which she recounts her story. The book was adapted into a film, which was released shortly after the book.
Johnson did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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