Abortion Ads On Television?
British TV viewers may soon see “adverts” for abortions alongside the more typical commercials for tea and crisps.
According to ABC News, “the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practices [in the U.K.] is considering rewriting the TV rules regarding advertising as a way of tackling the problem” of an increased rate of teen pregnancy. Rules on condom ads would be relaxed as well; currently prophylactic TV pitches are only allowed to air after 9pm.
Groups like the British Pregnancy Advisory Service would applaud the changes, with chief executive Ann Furedi saying, “Why would we not want women to be able to know quickly and simply where they can get pregnancy testing and referral for abortion treatment or antenatal care, depending on what they decide is best for them?”
Speaking for the other side is Dr. Peter Saunders of the Christian Medical Fellowship. “This is like having the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff to deal with the casualties rather than putting up a safety rail at the top of the cliff to stop them falling off.”
Well, not exactly. It’s more like telling people the ambulance exists. While it’s true that if there were no abortion clinics, there would be fewer abortions, is it really so wrong to actually let women know what their options are? Of course, cigarettes exist, and we don’t allow television ads for those. (That’s true in the United States at least; I don’t know what the rules are across the pond.)
Should the rules be relaxed, and should ads for abortion clinics be allowed on television?
Source: ABC News, BBC (Video report)
Image: SXC
Read more:
I don’t know if you can say there are fewer abortions if there are no abortion clinics. There are no statistics to back that up, as women have always aborted unwanted babies but there is no way of knowing with what frequency that happened. Also, in places where abortion is illegal it would be impossible to get statistics because those getting them would not be ‘fessing up.
I hope that doesn’t happen in the U.S. for the sake of my family. I already am ready to throw the t.v. out the window and this will only help my case.
I would also love to never see another tampon, pad, erectile dysfunction, trojan or smirnoff ad again.
Disclaimer: Prude alert!!