UK: As teenage pregnancies soar, the Government's answer... abortion ads on television

The Daily Mail (U.K.) ^ | March 26, 2009 | Sean Poulter

[Stoat]

Abortion clinics are to be allowed to advertise on television and radio for the first time.

Condom manufacturers will also be permitted to broadcast advertisements at any time of the day or night.

At present they are banned from advertising before the 9pm watershed except on Channel 4, where the cut-off is 7.30pm.

The proposals by the Advertising Standards Authority will give Britain among the world's most liberal broadcasting regimes on sexual health services.

The watchdog claims it is responding to Government calls for action to combat rising teenage pregnancy.

But its plans were furiously condemned last night by family campaigners and MPs.

 

They said television adverts for abortion clinics and condoms will lead to greater promiscuity among young people.

Dr Peter Saunders, of the Christian Medical Fellowship, said: 'The problem is that the Government strategy on teenage pregnancy, based on condoms, the morning-after pill and abortion, has failed.

'Allowing the advertising of abortion services is not dealing with the real problem. This is the approach of having the ambulance at the bottom of the cliff to deal with the casualties.

[Stoat]

My apologies for the severe editing of this article....this was done in order to remain in compliance with Free Republic posting rules pertaining to articles from the Daily Mail.  Please click on the main article link to read the full story.

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Baby-faced Alfie Patten reportedly became a father at just 13 with his 15-year-old girlfriend

 

Nadine Dorries, Tory MP for Mid-Bedfordshire, said the lifting of advertising controls was 'obscene'

 

Condom manufacturers and abortion clinics are to be allowed to advertise on television and radio in a bid to cut to combat teenage pregnancy and promote sexual health

More...

• The morning-after text: Girls of 11 will be able to send school nurse message asking for emergency contraceptive
• Fury as High Street pharmacy sells morning-after pill online in bulk
• Labour's £300m policy 'disaster' as teen pregnancies rocket to highest level in decade

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How long before this is allowed in the USA under the 0bama "administration"?

I think that we already have TV ads for condoms here in the USA, don't we? Sorry, I almost never watch TV so someone will need to correct me if I'm wrong.

Regardless, I don't see this as being such an impossible thing to consider happening here under an abortion-loving 'administration' such as what we've got now.

[Stoat]

The Advertising Standards Authority is starting a 12-week public consultation into the proposals. But it is clear it hopes to implement the changes early next year to fall in line with the policy of the Government and its advisers.

Its spokesman Matt Wilson said advertising by abortion clinics would have to be 'socially responsible'. However, it is not yet known how this would be enforced.

[BigCinBigD]

Their “finest hour” was a long time ago...

[TheBattman]

The Lord’s return MUST be soon... I just don’t want to see how much worse it is going to get between now and then.

[Stoat]

I confess that I don’t see something like this as being something that the 0bama ‘administration’ would fight against at all....they would welcome an opportunity to throw their constituency a bone such as this...particularly after it’s implemented overseas. They are watching all of this play out very carefully I’m sure.

[johnthebaptistmoore]

With Europe’s populations rapidly decreasing all over and at alarming rates, I would think that they would be promoting new life, even if they are from teens. Promoting abortions doesn’t help in attempts to seriously increase the total population of Europe.

[Stoat]

I believe the same is true for the USA, isn’t it? It seems that our illegal immigran population is growing exponentially but everyone else is in decline.

[ari-freedom]

“Promoting abortions doesn’t help in attempts to seriously increase the total population of Europe.”

that what the muslims are for. They’re not as dumb.

[Othniel]

When I was a teen, I listened to XPRS, an oldies station in Baja. It could crank up its transmitter to 50,000 watts during the night, blasting out great music and, on occasion, Wolfman Jack. Anyway, my family was visiting this very proper aunt of mine in Berkeley. As I was getting out my sleeping bag for the living room floor, I had the radio on. My folks and my aunt were in the kitchen having coffee and talking. After a bunch of cool tunes, the radio suddenly burbled a condom ad. I leapt for the radio and flicked it off. The conversation never stopped in the next room, and the absence of icy silence told me nobody heard it. This was 1975. I've heard "Trojan man" ads on the radio, usually at night, and on the "rebel rocker" station. But the Brits take this over the top. Gawd 'elp 'em.

[wafflehouse]

makes you wonder what an abortion commercial would be like. i had never considered the possibility of that before. i dont imagine they would allow anti-abortion commercials either.
i dont know of any commercials about any other elective surgery like breast implants or stomach stapling. is there a precedent for this?

LASIK surgery would be about the only similar example i can think of.

[melsec]

I wouldn’t worry too much - I expect a strong shift to the Right in British politics and Gordy and his group of socialist nitwits will soon be out on their collective arses.

Mel

[MantillaMilitant]

I know this is in the U.K.

But yesterday here in U.S. I got a call from Priests for Life about their new "Raise Your Hand if You're Against Abortion" video. I asked why it was not getting network airplay and was told that anti-abortion ads were "too controversial" for major networks.

Yet major networks show ads on "male enhancement" products, women's underwear, sanitary napkins and tampons, vaginal birth control rings, IUDs and the Pill, herpes medications, ad nauseum. Even during otherwise relatively "clean" shows. But that's not "controversial."

[wagglebee]

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[wagglebee]

Pinged from Terri Dailies

[Stoat]

Thank you very much for pinging your list and also for posting and crosslinking to the other thread; sincerely appreciated  :-)

 

[baa39]

I don’t watch much TV either, actually I don’t have one. So I only see what’s going on if I happen to be at a friend’s. I’ve been shocked just by the commercials for Viagra-type products, extremely explicit language and on early in the evening. It’s easy to imagine a 14-year old boying watching this and thinking, hmmm, I’d like to try some of that, and next thing you know we have one of these teenage pregnancies no one can understand.

When you push sex on kids 24/7, including schools classes, sex ed, magazines, etc, then they are going to have sex. Sex leads to pregnancy. These are CHILDREN. It’s hard enough for adults to properly and consistently use contraception. And we want to put that burden on kids who should be focusing on their homework?

There’s only one guarantee not to get pregnant, and that is not to have sex. Abstinence programs (Christian or not) over and over have success. Handing out condoms never has been shown to reduce either pregnancy or disease. Condoms are only 80 percent effective with ADULTS, and we expect some fumbling nervous teenager to figure this out. Even if you accept the premise that kids should have sex, it’s a terrible burden to put upon them. They cannot handle this responsibility and after decades of sex ed we know for a fact it does not work, in fact as detrimental psychological and social effects, especially on the girls.

[Stoat]

I agree on all points that you make, and I believe that it’s only a matter of a very short time until we start seeing ads here in he USA targeted at children, letting them know about ‘sexual health treatmets’ that are available to them. The word ‘abortion’ has become so ‘stigmatized’, after all....and we can’t be making the children feel bad about what they’re doing when they go in to have their own children murdered, with the blessings of the Government, no less. Sorry to sound so cynical; this whole subject is terribly saddening and it’s difficult to have hope.

[Stoat]

I expect a strong shift to the Right in British politics and Gordy and his group of socialist nitwits will soon be out on their collective arses

I sincerely hope that you're correct.  The Left is like a cancer though...once it infects a society, it quickly metastasizes throughout, destroying everything in it's path.

[melsec]

You are correct as the left gets more radical they tend to drag the right past the centre of politics - until there is a backlash and the pendulem swings back - we saw this with 9/11 however Bush (who I still like) was not a great promoter of conservative ideals!

<Mel