Contact: Leslie Palma, 347-286-7277

ATLANTA, Feb. 4, 2014 /Christian Newswire/ -- Dr. Alveda King, director of African American Outreach for Priests for Life, reacted today to the announcement that House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will receive Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger Award.

"It's true that Congresswoman Pelosi deserves Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger Award -- almost no one has done more to promote the killing of innocent babies in the womb than she has," noted Dr. King. "If Mrs. Pelosi wants finally to take her role as a public servant seriously, though, she will reject the award named after a racist woman who had no problem speaking to a Ku Klux Klan meeting."

The Sanger Award has been given annually by Planned Parenthood since 1966, when the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., Alveda King's uncle, was named, but did not personally accept one of the first four citations.

"It's ironic that Planned Parenthood would extend to my uncle, Martin Luther King, Jr., an award for his human rights work," Dr. King continued. "I can't think of an organization that has done more to trample upon human rights than Planned Parenthood."

"Of course, in 1966, Planned Parenthood did not advocate for abortion and its racist roots were not well known," added Dr. King. "Knowing what we know now and 56 million dead children later, I'm confident that the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr., a man who gave his life defending others' rights to life and liberty, would reject any association with Planned Parenthood."