CBS’s recent decision to air an anti-choice advertisement ad during Super Bowl XLIV was outrageous. Even worse is the network’s about face after from its own policy of rejecting controversial Super Bowl ads. The Women’s Media Center, and organizations dedicated to reproductive rights, tolerance, and social justice, are urging the network to immediately cancel this ad (campaign page with list of partners forthcoming).
LETTER TO CBS:
This letter is in response to the reported CBS decision to air an anti-choice advertisement during Super Bowl XLIV, sponsored by the controversial organization Focus on the Family. As united organizations dedicated to reproductive rights, tolerance, and social justice, we urge you to immediately cancel this ad and refuse any other advertisement promoting Focus on the Family’s agenda.
CBS has a well-documented history of prohibiting advocacy ads it deems controversial, rejecting ads from organizations such as PETA, MoveOn.org, United Church of Christ, and even ones that carry only an “implicit” endorsement for a side in a public debate. Last year, NBC made the prudent decision to not air anti-choice messages during the Super Bowl. CBS executives have indicated in the past that they would not air Super Bowl ads where “substantial elements of the community (are) in opposition to one another.” Abortion is a controversial issue and anti-abortion vitriol has resulted in escalated violence against reproductive health service providers and their patients, including the murder of Dr. George Tiller during Sunday morning service at his church. We sincerely hope you do not want CBS associated with this brand of un-American hate.
Focus on the Family has waged war on non-traditional families, tried its hand at race baiting during the 2008 election, and is now attempting to use the Super Bowl to further ramp up the vitriolic rhetoric surrounding reproductive rights. By offering one of the most coveted advertising spots of the year to an anti-equality, anti-choice, homophobic organization, CBS is aligning itself with a political stance that will alienate viewers and discourage consumers from supporting its shows and advertisers. The decision to air this ad would be ethically, economically and politically disastrous for CBS. The content of this ad endangers women’s health, uses sports to divide rather than to unite, and promotes an organization that opposes the equality of Americans based on gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, and reproductive freedom. Focus on the Family’s ad is surrealistic in its argument that a woman who chooses not to have a child may be depriving the Super Bowl of a football player. It uses one family’s story to dictate morality to the American public, and encourages young women to disregard medical advice, putting their lives at risk.
The Super Bowl is an entertainment event that brings people together regardless of background, faith, ideology or political affiliation. Focus on the Family’s ad goes against the approximately 70% majority American view that reproductive decisions should be left up to a woman and her physician; against the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that such decisions are protected by a constitutionally guaranteed right to privacy; and against the health needs of the 1 in 3 American women who will need an abortion at some time in her life.
Though women comprise only 9% of CBS’s board, they are a key constituency for the CBS network and 40% of Super Bowl viewers. If you contradict your policy and air this ad, you will be throwing these women under the bus. American values of privacy and freedom should be respected, not undermined during the Super Bowl. The last thing Americans need is CBS or its advertisers telling us how and when to have a family. CBS must take action now, by cancelling the airing of Focus on the Family’s ad.
Sincerely,
Abortion Access Project
ACCESS/Women’s Health Rights Coalition, Women, Action & the Media
Advocates for Youth
Alternet
By Any Media Necessary
California Council of Churches IMPACT
CAMI project
Choice USA
Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP)/Hampshire College
CODEPINK
Equality Now
Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF)
Feminist Press
HollabackNYC
Ibis Reproductive Health
Law Students for Reproductive Justice
MAMAPALOOZA!
Media Equity Collaborative
Medical Students for Choice!
Ms. Foundation
New Prospect Family Praise and Worship Center
National Organization for Women (NOW)
NOW-NYC
OpEd Project
Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health
Religious Institute
RH Reality Check
Sisterhood is Global, Inc
SisterSong
The White House Project
Third Wave Foundation
Women, Action & the Media (WAM!)
Women In Media & News
Women’s Campaign Forum
Women’s Information Network (WIN)
Women’s Media Center
Individuals
Kate Michelman, Former President, NARAL Pro-Choice America
Shira Tarrant, PhD, Author and Professor
Frances Kissling, Center for Bioethics, UPenn
Linda Lowen, womensissues.about.com
Kate Goldwater, AuH2O Eco-friendly feminist fashion
Katha Pollitt, writer
Deanna Zandt, Media technologist and author
Alida Brill, Feminist
Joanne Bamberger, Punditmom.com
Barbara Glickstein, RN, MPH, MS
Donna Lilly, AAUW California Past President 2006-2008
Anna Clark, Detroit, MI, Journalist
Patricia DeGennaro
Norma Jo Waxman MD, Associate Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine, Waxman, Norma Jo
…List in development
Click here to learn more about the campaign to Stop Anti-Choice Super Bowl Ad.
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32 Comments
For once let a Christian speak his mind. Everyone is against God. This country needs God and you dont think that I pray for your soul. This commercial in no way negatively affects you. Would you be okay with a pro-abortion ad. Let him have the same freedom of speech you would allow those you agree with. God Bless and take care.
Leave the Super Bowl Ad alone! You guys are only for choice, if it is “your” choice. You are not pro-choice. You are pro-abortion and you don’t want anyone heard that is in disagreement with you.
I agree w/ K Green. If you’re against this ad, then you’re much more anti-choice than those that are pro-life. Every mother should be able to hear both sides in order to make the right choice for themselves, not just the side you want them to hear.
I support CBS totally for keeping this ad. You should be ashamed of yourself for your biased opinion.
I agree that women [and men] should be able to hear opinions and positions both sides of the abortion issue–however, an advertisement during the Super Bowl is neither the time nor the place. To answer K. Green, I STRONGLY support the view that a woman should be free to decide whether or not she wants to have an abortion–that is, I am PRO-CHOICE. The fact is, Tebow’s mother was allowed TO CHOOSE NOT to have an abortion. This is the point of having legalized abortion–a woman CAN CHOOSE. And to answer Talon, I definitely do and would NOT support a pro-abortion ad during the Super Bowl. It bears repeating, advertising during the Super Bowl is neither the time nor the place to discuss issues related to abortion–if you can call a sound bite a discussion.
I see a lot of these opinions in the story are written in ignorance. The commercial is not lobbying to change your rights, just telling a story of saving a life, and what can come from that decision.
The only thing we can hear is the sound of the cash register. The other side can’t afford the ad. They choose to spend the available money providing health care to those who can’t afford it, not lining the pocket books of the wealthy.
Steph said this commercial is about “saving a life” – In reality, it’s about valuing the life of a fetus more than that of a woman.
Nearly 70,000 women die each year from unsafe abortions. Many millions more are injured. 500,000 women die in childbirth. An estimated 1.5 to 3 million women in the world die each year from violence, usually from a partner. WHERE ARE THE SO-CALLED PRO-LIFERS? They’re out demanding women have forced pregnancies, trying to stop her from getting contraception, indoctrinating them with religion that keeps them impoverished because they have too many mouths to feed, leaving them to die in countries like Nicaragua where abortion is criminalized so physicians are afaid to use an abortion even to save her life, out killing abortion doctors, taunting women who go to family planning clinics. Being “pro-life” is pure hypocrisy.
NO forced abortions.
NO female vaginal mutilation in the US or elsewhere.
If you don’t want abortions, don’t get them. Let women decide the fate of their own bodies and lives.
WOMEN SHOULD HAVE THE CHOICE TO HAVE AN ABORTION OR NOT. MANY TIMES ABORTIONS ARE NEEDED BECAUSE THE MOTHER’S LIFE IS IN DANGER. CASE AND POINT MY MOTHER. SHE TRIED TO HAVE HER BABY AND ALMOST DIED. THE BABY WAS STILLBORN AS PREDICTED. SHE BARELY SURVIVED HERSELF. SHE HAD 3 CHILDREN (10, 8, 6). ALL THIS BECAUSE HER PRIEST TOLD HER SHE WOULD GO TO HELL FOR KILLING HER UNBORN CHILD. IF ONE OF YOU HAVE A DAUGHTER IN THE FUTURE OR EVEN NOW, WHAT IF SHE GETS GANGBANGED BY 8 BLACK GUYS? YOU WANT HER TO HAVE AN ABORTION? OR LOOK AT THAT MULATTO CHILD AND EVERYDAY REMEMBER THE WORST DAY OF HER LIFE WHEN SHE WAS LET FOR DEAD IN A POOL OF BLOOD AND SEMEN?
The superbowl is a uniquely American experience which brings the country together for one day each year to enjoy a football game. It should not be used to advance the agenda of any group which seeks to divide us along religious, political or gender lines. The right to choose is a controversial and divisive issue on which many Americans disagree and the airing of this commercial would undoubtedly be offensive to some.
There are many appropriate venues for Focus on the Family to spread its propaganda. The superbowl is not one of them.
I am an free thinking American woman who thinks that a woman must have the right to choose. The issue is between the woman and her God. I would NEVER even THINK of having an abortion. The simple problem with this ad is that the ad CBS intends to allow is being shown during a FAMILY SPORTS EVENTS. It is not proper to put a controversial ad on during a family oriented program. YES, the ad IS controversial because it promotes a spoecific position. Children should NEVER be put in the position of being forced to watch any ad dealing with abortion, pro or con. CBS is wrong. I encourage all those who agree to boycott CBS advertisers. Oh, and Mr. Tebow – how many children has your family adopted and how many do you intend to adopt?? Focus on the Family should be pro-adoption and instead of spending millions on this ad, use the funds to secure homes for the children left without parents in Haiti and throughout the world. Put your money where your mouth is.
I can’t even believe the comments here. This country is becoming more and more anti-women and anti-choice. If they won’t run ads by PETA and MoveOn.org – why would they choose to run an ad by a group whose credo is founded on inclusion, hate, and judgment.
Yes they have a right to air their views and to pay for airtime.
And I have a right to boycott CBS and all the other sponsors of the Super Bowl.
If all of you really care about Free Speech -then tell CBS to air MoveOn.org, PETA, and the United Church of Christ’s ads, too. Let’s see you all stand up for views YOU don’t agree with.
I’ve said it since Obama was elected -this President and this Congress will thrown women under the bus the first chance they get. The anti-choice movement continues to grow …
No one ios being forced to watch anything here, unless you live in China, where you probably wouldn’t be permitted to watch the Superbowl anyway. If you don’t want to hear it, change the channel.
I am with K Green on this one. Mrs. Tebow CHOSE to have a child. We could use some positive stories on the TV. She is just teller her story. She’s not saying do what I do. There are plenty of ads with violence and sex for other shows, lingerie commercials and birth control and erectile dysfunction commercials. Isn’t it about time for something a little more wholesome, something a little more conservative on TV. Plus, it’s only 30 seconds!!! If you don’t want to see it, don’t watch it! That’s what we do with all the smut.
By the way, my mom was given the “choice” whether or not to have her baby when she was pregnant with my sister. She was told she AND the baby would most likely die OR the baby would definitely have lifelong complications. She chose life and trusted God and my sister was born with NO problems and my mom had NO complications whatsoever. My sister is now a healthy beautiful 22 year old college student who loves the life my mom chose to keep valued.
When I heard there was a conrtroversial TV ad planned regarding abortion, I figured it must be a pro-abortion ad. It is sickening that the controversy is that life for the unborn is being promoted. What kind of a nation are we that this is seen as something evil. If the Women’s Media Center really cared about women they would make sure that any woman considering an abortion has all the facts regarding the risks to herself both physically and mentally. They would make sure that the woman has the option for an immediate ultrasound so that she can understand that this is not a mass of tissue,but a developing baby. They would make sure the woman knows of the government programs for healthcare during and after her pregnancy, and the option for giving the baby up for adoption. It’s ironic that women, who were created with the ability to carry a child in their womb and therefore soley entrusted with the responsibility to protect and nurture would be the ones to promote the choice to kill their own child.
If all of you moonbats actually got together and boycotted all of CBS’s advertisers, would anyone notice? Why don’t you just do what you normally do in protest, stand outside the Super Bowl topless and scream obscenities at the people (and their kids) as they go into the game. That will probably get all twenty six of you a lot more attention. . .
It doesn’t matter to me whether or not the ad runs. An ad does not in any way sway me from my convictions. Those that find it offensive should protest if that’s what you choose. If your pro-life, spread the word, just don’t shoot anyone while doing it.
Usually in these conversations, the point gets lost. No one is condemning the woman, or thinks less of her life over the unborn child’s life—they are both valued and both should be loved, but the fact remains that the unborn child cannot speak for him/her self–he has no voice (yet). What about their choice? And the unborn child is just that —A CHILD– a human being. The developmental size, location (womb), environment or dependency of a human being should not matter–it does not change the biological fact that it is a human being. Sperm meets egg..boom! 46 chromosomes..DNA for a human being.
When a woman misses her menstrual cycle, finds out that she’s pregnant…this means she is going to have a baby—another human being, not a monkey. Men and women have sex and produce other human beings, not monkeys or any other animals. The fact’s are facts. Truth is truth. Whether unintended or not, once pregnant it is too late….a human being is present. And a human life should always be protected and loved and have choices/liberties–’unborn’ life as well as ‘born’ life. Every single human being on the face of this earth started out just like this–unborn then born–Let’s not forget the biology folks…
What I always find appalling and hypocritical about those so called pro life christians is that we’ll never find them at an anti war rally.They are so pro life that they are the same people who will walk over a homeless person in the streets without giving it a thought.I truly believe that the people pushing for laws making it illegal for a woman to have an abortion are only interested in creating bodies for all the endless wars that America is planning to start with other countries,now and in the future..Boycott the damn super bowl.
If it weren’t so laughable, it would be pathetic that the wingnuts don’t understand the problem, and that’s that CBS has — right or wrong — historically refused to air advocacy ads during the Superbowl. Ah, well — the Reactionary Right here is nothing if not full of hypocrisy, as we can see in the comments on this topic, which really is all they know. Perhaps they’ll finally shut of for 15 minutes with their incessant whining about the liberal mainstream media. Probably not, though, since all they know is how to play the phony martyr card and demand that everyone else accept their beliefs.
And to you Reeni — you clearly don’t know a rip about biology if you think an embryo is a child. How very sad for you that you’ve let your personal opinion delude you from the facts. Like it or not, abortion under certain circumstances is a right in this country, just as those who choose to continue pregnancies AMA have that right as well.
This is precisely what we need, eh? A nexus of God/ religion and sports. As if the line between separation of state and church has not been blurred. Violence against abortion providers has increased steadily over the past few years. Lunatics are out killing abortion doctors while people treat them as martyrs. Sure, both sides should be heard but there is a time and a place for everything. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that opinions of both sides are not equally valid. For example creationism is pure junk and anyone who believes in it is either misinformed, uneducated or just plain stupid and ignorant. How would people feel if some Islamic cleric wanted to air a commercial in the praise of Islam and Mohammed? Leave the Superbowl alone.
Why do religious fanatics, despite their brutal and violent past, have still so much influence?
Well, Coco go ahead and boycott I’m sure CBS is just quaking in their knees over the thought of their sponsors losing your support. The ad that hasn’t been seen but is being objected to. Not sure that the objection then is the ad but rather the org. that paid for the ad. As I just left a comment to the great Jehmu if it was planned parenthood she and her group would be as quiet as a church mouse. Pun inended.
Ladies, why don’t you put your $$ where your mouth is and run your own ad promoting your “death culture”, the killing of innocent unborn children. Surely all you well-to-do feminist lawyers can pool some money and come up with $3M. Stop hiding behind the euphimism of “pro-choice” when in fact you are pro-death and do not value life. It truly is a sign of the times when women, who form the closest emotional bond with their child during the pregnancy, continue to want to suppport the right to kill it. Sad, ladies. Very sad.
And to you Akhil, please try harder to convince us that the pro-life crowd is claiming martyrdom for the killer of the abortion doctor. Although I believe he (the doctor) truly was a soul-less person (along with the umm, health professionals who worked for him performing, umm, “medical procedures”) (talking about sanitizing a gruesome act like abortion) the person who killed him was convicted of the crime, as he should have been. There is no joy from the pro-life folks over his act.
I’m pro-life and I support this ad. I think that one of the things that we’re seeing over some of the reaction to it, is that it’s pulling back the veil on the pro-choice movement and showing that it’s really only pro-abortion.
I wonder if the anti-choicers here would be good with an ad showing a woman who ignored her doctor’s advice and went ahead with a dangerous pregnancy and then DIED and left her 4 kids motherless and her husband a widower, having to take care of an infant himself (if it survived), as would have happened if Pam Tebow’s luck went the other way. It is an irresponsible message–don’t have an abortion even to save your life. And who cares about your other kids and husband. Fetuses rule, I guess.
Loved the Tebow’s ad. It was soooo sweet!
The decision that was made by CBS to air an advertisement for an organization that focuses on such a wedge issue was a tough one. I am neither defending nor attacking the decisions that were made by CBS. However, when issues and organizations the size of CBS and the NFL make decisions of this magnitude, there is bound to be the threat of SERIOUS consequences. Most of us can only hope to pass our ideals along to our children first-hand, and not be dependent upon mega-corporations to frame the values of our society.
-E. Smith
Editor
DC Life Magazine
I think people have the right to make there own decisions. Life is short, live it to the fullest and rest in peace. Love your brother as yourself.
While I am not in favor of abortion, I understand that there are SOME situations which warrant it. HOWEVER, it is to be a decision made between the woman, her husband (hopefully she has one to be there for her), and God.
Now I agree with others, it is just an ad, it is not FORCING anyone to do anything. People will always make their own choices, always. That is a God-given gift and no one has the right to take it away from them. However, I do believe that there are times when women are being completely selfish when they have abortions. Do I believe Dr. Tiller was doing wrong, yes, when he did his work later in term than was legal. But do I believe he deserved to be killed, no. His judgment will come of the Lord.
I feel that people can make choices for themselves. I don’t agree with abortion, but I feel its an individual choice.