Who among us has not heard it said, in one form or another, that if you repeat a lie often enough, eventually people will believe it? This notion has its origins in the darkest of propaganda and political movements, yet it has become shamefully common practice.

So common, in fact, that we saw a prime example on the pages of the Sun Journal on Oct. 18. In the context of a series comparing the views of candidates for governor on abortion, write-in candidate John Jenkins shockingly criticized Planned Parenthood for racist practices.

For decades, anti-choice advocates have falsely and deliberately repeated the claim that Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, pushed women of color to have abortions. It appears to have been repeated often enough for Jenkins to erroneously accept it as fact.

In truth, Sanger worked shoulder to shoulder with the greatest leaders in the civil rights movement, and was praised by the Rev. Martin Luther King and his wife. Upon her death, King said this about Sanger: “There is a striking kinship between our movement and Margaret Sanger’s early efforts. Our sure beginning in the struggle for equality by nonviolent direct action may not have been so resolute without the tradition established by Margaret Sanger and people like her (King, 1966).”

Planned Parenthood does not tolerate racism of any kind and firmly and unequivocally denounces racial bias in the delivery of health care. We believe in helping all individuals — regardless of gender, race or sexual orientation — to make informed decisions about their reproductive health care. The organization’s mission is deeply rooted in the philosophy of equality for all, social justice, and our doors are open to everyone.

For more than 90 years, Planned Parenthood has provided high-quality, affordable health care services. Today, those services include birth control, cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections and education for women, men and teens. In Maine, our four health centers serve more than 11,000 young women of all races.

Allowing women to control their own health care, and to control when and how they have families, is the single most important economic decision women make. Using birth control can allow a woman to stay in school, to keep a job, and to advance in that job until she is ready to have children. Birth control allows families to plan for and have families of a size of their choosing.

More than 90 percent of what we do at Planned Parenthood is prevention, and for many women it is the only regular health care they get. We take all who come, regardless of income, and certainly regardless of race. We treat all of our patients — women, men, old, young, rich, poor, black, white — with respect and dignity. Our patients know this, which is why we have survived for nearly 100 years.

Margaret Sanger ensured that American women and women worldwide could have access to contraception. By doing this, she changed the lives of billions of women worldwide for the better.

So let’s repeat this truth often enough — family planning has had a profoundly positive effect on the lives of women from every community and of every race, religion and nationality, worldwide.

Dr. Kolawole Bankole is a former trustee of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England.