The Abundant Birth Project sounds good on paper. Very few people would openly oppose a plan to provide resources to help expectant mothers in need. But limiting the initiative to only black and Pacific Islander women violates the #basicrights of all citizens who do not fit within these ethnic groups.
When rolling out welfare programs, the administration has to take into account the best interests of all citizens. This is not only a moral imperative; it is a matter of law. Campaigns like the #AbundantBirthProject that receive public funding are not allowed to discriminate against any races or ethnic groups. Limiting access to resources based upon ethnic heritage constitutes a violation of federal law. It goes directly against the Equal Protection Clause under the Fourteenth Amendment, which compels government organizations to act impartially without drawing any distinctions between individuals.
The city of San Francisco is well within its rights to roll out welfare programs. However, such programs must not be launched at the expense of a major part of the community. This program is just an attempt to redistribute wealth under the guise of equity.
Even if we ignore all of the legal considerations, just handing out money does not present a sustainable solution for eliminating racial injustice. The administration's energy would be better spent on practical steps aimed at helping all expectant mothers get adequate medical care, regardless of the color of their skin. They would be wise to follow the example set forth by the Homeless Prenatal Program family resource center in San Francisco. This program does not only give people money, it helps them with financial education and job training that will help them improve their situations in life.
Providing a basic income to a select few does nothing to address the root cause of the problem, and it is the wrong way to handle the issue. Mayor London Breed claimed that the project was "rooted in racial justice," but did not explain how favoring one group over another will help address any possible issues of systemic racism or anti-black sentiment. If anything, the discriminatory nature of this project has the potential to exacerbate these profound problems.
A study by the CDC states that there is a higher risk of mortality for black women and babies as compared to some other groups, and it is important to explore the underlying reasons for this disparity. But it is inherently problematic to assume that throwing money at this group of people will cause a real lasting change in their lives. No one can deny that racial discrimination still exists. However, that doesn't make it right for the City to support a program that only helps people with the "right" skin color. All this does is pit the citizens against one another. For a program supposedly embedded in "racial justice," it presents a very real threat of increasing polarization within the society.
The Abundant Birth project lacks proper vision and planning. It alienates certain communities and gives way to polarization. Even the legality of the project is debatable. The project appears to be a PR stunt for the mayor's office that doesn't set out to achieve anything concrete, but functions as a smokescreen to deflect attention from SF administration's real responsibilities.
Nice try, but perhaps the administration's time would be better spent trying to address bigger problems that affect all of our city's residents.
