Pro-Life Ad Deemed ‘Unacceptable’ by Major TV Networks
By Movieguide® Staff
CBS, CMT and the Hallmark channel refused to air a 30-second pro-life ad by Susan B. Anthony List (SBA).
“Five decades of medical breakthroughs. Every age group has more opportunity to live except one. The unborn still fall victim to outdated laws,” the ad’s narrator says over images of an unborn baby from a sonogram. “Science tells us that at fifteen weeks these babies have fully formed faces. They smile. They yawn. They feel pain. Isn’t it time the law reflects the science?”
We're launching an initial $2M campaign highlighting the humanity of unborn children as the Supreme Court prepares to review a landmark abortion case
Watch the ad: pic.twitter.com/3xNV0Mm4sm
— SBA Pro-Life America LifeSavingLaws.com (@sbaprolife) May 26, 2021
However, TV Networks said that the ad was too “controversial” and violated various advocacy guidelines.
“Issue-oriented advertisements that are designed for the purpose of presenting views or influencing legislation on issues that are controversial by general public consensus are unacceptable,” CBS wrote to SBA List, according to The Daily Wire.
CMT, a TV network owned by ViacomCBS, said that although the station airs certain political ads, they marked the SBA List ad as too contentious.
“While we do accept political and issue-based ads on a case-by-case basis, issue-oriented ads that are designed for the purpose of presenting views or influencing legislation on issues that are controversial by general public consensus are unacceptable,” CMT told SBA List.
Hallmark, owned by Crown Media, noted that the ad did not meet their standards for positive entertainment, which resulted in them rejecting the ad.
The Daily Wire reported:
The SBA List launched the ad as part of a $2 million television campaign in response to last month’s news that the Supreme Court will take up a case involving a Mississippi law that seeks to ban most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The ad, paid for by the SBA List Education Fund, “doesn’t issue any calls to action to Congress or attack any candidate or politician,” the SBA List said.
“It simply praises the modern miracles of medicine and health care tech which have increased opportunities for every generation in the last 50 years, except for the unborn because the U.S. allows abortion on-demand through birth,” the group added.
According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, over 619,500 abortions took place in the U.S. in 2018.
“SBA List simply seeks to educate the majority of Americans who support common sense pro-life policies and yet, are unaware of our nation’s extremely permissive abortion laws,” the group said. “Ideologically driven abortion allies in the media want to keep the status quo.”
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
