The abortion provider, Marie Stopes organisation has arranged for abortion adverts to appear on TV Channel 4 on Monday 24th May at 10.10pm and throughout June. There is some good information about possible legal challenges to this advertisement at John Smeaton's post: Abortion advertisement move is deplorable. To make an objection to the Government, you should write to the new Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport, the Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP. The email address is enquiries@culture.gsi.gov.uk
From John's post, here are some points you could make:
- Abortion is in English law a criminal offence. Advertising of a criminal offence is not permitted.
- European law also prohibits the advertising of restricted (i.e. on prescription) medical procedures, such as abortion. [cf. the Audio-Visual Media Regulations 2010, preamble, 89]
- The Broadcasting Act 1990 requires that advertising is not offensive or harmful. Abortion is offensive to the countless women damaged by abortion; and lethally harmful to the hundreds of unborn children aborted every day.
The Good Counsel Network has also posted on this at their Maria Stops Abortion blog: Some kinds of demons... Part 2 Urgent update. They have proposed today as a day of fasting and prayer with the particular intention of preventing this TV advertising campaign and any future such plans. (I'm sorry to be late in posting this, but you can, of course, offer some extra fasting and pray at any time if you miss chance today.)
There is also an iPetition against channel4 abortion advert which you can sign, and the Daily Mail article on this has a poll asking "Should abortion adverts be shown on TV". Currently the poll stands at 26% Yes and 74% No so you might help to increase that further.
3 comments:
I believe that no abortion, particularly no "partial birth" abortion, has been shown on TV. The real reason is that abortion clinics realise that sight of the process would encourage opposition.
Perhaps the point can be made that if the process is too unpleasant (a stronger word comes to mind) to be shown on TV it is too unpleasant to advertise or even perform.
Of course the abolition of the Catholic adoption agencies reduces the opportunity for a better choice to be made. That is another story.
Many thanks Father. Here's some more detail/further advice from SPUC:
(1) contact Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The Secretary of State has the power to stop the ad through his powers relating to Ofcom - please urge him to use that power. The department's email address is enquiries@culture.gov.uk (alternatively enquiries@culture.gsi.gov.uk ) and the department's telephone
number is (020) 7211 6000.
(2) contact your MP, asking him/her to urge the Secretary of State to stop the ad. You can email your MP via http://www.spuc.org.uk/mps You can
also telephone your MP via the parliamentary switchboard on (020) 7219 3000.
More info at SPUC
Father, this is the response I received from the department for Culture, Media and Sport today. Not surprisingly, it is rather evasive and unhelpful. It has basically been lifted from this ASA statement:
http://www.asa.org.uk/Media-Centre/2010/PCAS-statement.aspx
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Dear Dr Joyce,
Thank you for your email of 21 May to Jeremy Hunt about the Marie Stopes advertisement which was recently broadcast on Channel 4. I have been asked to reply.
Under existing rules non-commercial providers of post-conception advice services are permitted to advertise on television in the UK. There has been no change to the Advertising Code or the law in this regard.
Advertising in the UK is controlled through a system of co-regulation and self regulation, which is enforced by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). This regulatory system is independent of Government and is ultimately responsible for setting the standards in advertising.
The Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) are the bodies responsible for writing and maintaining the advertising codes.
Ofcom's licensees, the commercial TV channels and radio stations, must continue to observe the statutory codes on advertising standards and practice but, if advertisements mislead or cause harm or distress, the matter will be dealt with first by the ASA.
If viewers have concerns about the content or scheduling of the advert, the ASA is able to consider complaints once the advert has aired. You can write to them at Advertising Standards Authority, Mid City Place, 71 High Holborn, London, WC1V 6QT, telephone on 020 7492 2222 / 020 7242 8159 or visit their website at www.asa.org.uk
Yours sincerely,
Steve Edwards
Media Desk Officer
Department for Culture, Media and Sport
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