Marie Stopes Ad Ruling

The ASA ruling on the Marie Stopes TV advertisement on Channel 4 is out. You can read a copy for yourself here.

SPUC have the best cursory analysis:

London, 3 August 2010 – A ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in favour of a television advertisement by Marie Stopes International (MSI), one of Britain’s main abortion providers, has been condemned by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), one of Britain’s leading pro-life groups.

Paul Tully, SPUC general secretary, commented: “Advertising abortion, whether directly or under the guise of so-called pregnancy advice’, is indecent and dishonest. Yet the ASA has approved showing TV ads from one of the biggest abortion-providers in the UK.

“The ASA says the ad is not offensive, thus ignoring the fundamental nature of the ad’s message which is: ‘We can kill unborn babies’.  This message is just as offensive as saying ‘We can kill immigrants’, ‘We can kill paedophiles’ or targeting any other disparaged group. It is simply casuistic of the ASA to hold that the ad isn’t advertising abortion.

“As an industry-based group, it is free to reflect the views of the broadcasters and publishers who want lucrative advertising deals: it is a great shame that it has not acted more impartially in this matter. The ASA is not a statutory authority. It is not answerable democratically or judicially to anyone, nor does it have power to impose any penalties or hold anyone to account. The ASA’s approval of TV abortion ads highlights the need for Jeremy Hunt, the media secretary, to intervene, as he can*, to stop these deeply offensive ads”, concluded Mr Tully.

SPUC has launched a nationwide leafleting campaign to put pressure on the Government to intervene.

To be honest, when I received the ruling last week I read it and went, “Yeah, thought as much”. Anyone with just an ounce of integrity can see that if you go to the Marie Stopes website, the *only* service they physically provide to deal with a pregnancy is abortion. The whole of the pregnancy part of their website is geared towards this aim. There is nothing on the website that provides any form of material support for those who seek to continue with a pregnancy. How the ASA could rule that the Marie Stopes advert did not promote abortion when it guides viewers to a website that does exactly that is beyond belief.

For heaven’s sake – the “Are You Late” campaign video is accessed under the “Abortion” section of the menu and not under the other nine menu items. The blurb which goes with it says,

Remember you are not alone – Around 200,000 abortions are carried out in Britain each year. Women choose to end a pregnancy for a number of reasons. Women are in the best position to know whether or not to continue with a pregnancy – no one else can make this decision for them.

How clear can it be?

Marie Stopes provides abortions which means Marie Stopes sells abortions which means Marie Stopes makes money from selling abortions which means Marie Stopes makes money from murdering children. It’s just sad that now the ASA has become a worshipper of Molech and Mammon as well as Marie Stopes.