Focus on the Family in your living room on Super Bowl Sunday

Focus on the Family are advertising a certain view on difficult pregnancies, a view not necessarily shared by CBS. Presumably,they are willing and able to pay for it, and have complied with all the requirements of the law pertaining to the issue. There is no valid reason to deny them the airtime they seek. The only reason NARAL seem to be able to give for keeping the ad off the air is that they, NARAL, disagree with its contents. That is simply not an acceptable reason. NARAL's ideas are not so sacrosanct that divergent or opposing views must be denied expression. What NARAL can and should do is produce its own ads (they have the means necessary) and have them run to refute FFL's views. Then let the public decide. That is the American way.

To CBS Super Freaks:

Choice is the hallmark of the American people. We came here and founded this country on choice, the freedom to have choice of religion, government, etc. In advocating a specific anti woman agenda during a male dominated viewing time, you are encouraging more female victimization, helping fill those crisis shelters for battered women, encouraging religions which abuse and treat women as lessor in some way to men.

Frankly if this ad was advocating female genital mutilation, the enforcement of burka use and the philosophy not to educate woman or allow them to own property, not allow freedom of movement without male escort, you are promoting the same thing. You are saying without a doubt that women cannot think or act on their own behalf. You are saying that men and women who are anti choice are somehow better, smarter and more important then a woman who chooses her own healthcare and reproductive methods and the men who support her.

Too bad you cannot see this as opening the floodgates to all sorts of persecution of woman through the dark veil of religious and godlike thinking. Did it ever occur to you that you are subjecting thousands of women to additional scrutiny and abortion providers nationwide to harm because of your championing an anti choice message.

Perhaps someday soon you will regret deeply your part in dividing this nation along the lines of men and women, religion vs. religion and government that is saturated with one kind of self righteous religious message, remember what Dr. Tiller said, TRUST WOMEN.

The email address for CBS's Business Ethics and Compliance "Non Management Directors" is: nonmanagementdirectors@cbs.com
I do not know if it helps to send an email there, as well as signing the petition, but I did both just in case.

I also have been assaulted by Focus On The Family commercials when watching Colorado Avalanche games here in Denver. It is getting old! They only stand for victimization of women, the elitism of men and white people, hate of "others," and intolerance of all.

Why in the world does NARAL's petition say to ask CBS not to do this? Will there be a second push where we change "please" to "pretty please"? Why in the world aren't we saying, tell CBS you and your associates are boycotting all their advertisers if this ad airs?

Send your own email to CBS. And to their advertisers. I did, so can you.

NARAL is pursuing a faulty strategy that will not be effective. These people are radicals and terrorists who do not respond to "Please". CBS is aiding an organization and philosophy that is domineering, condescending and arrogant. The anti-abortionists can't convince everyone that their belief is correct so they are trying to make it illegal to disagree with them. They will stop at nothing and CBS is now aligned with them. They must be identified as supporting terrorists and religious hedgemony. If you disagree with the Pope and Catholic church, no matter, they will deny you freedom of religion and ability to make your own moral choices.
NARAL and NOW, etc should be attacking and making this an issue of FREEDOM of religion and individual liberty.

FOTF won't be in my living room. CBS won't either. I'm done with CBS, given their heterosexist and misogynist policies.

Ted Robinson, I agree NARAL is pursuing a faulty strategy, but I disagree that they should "make this and issue of FREEDOM of religion". Here is a strategy I would suggest:
Produce an ad that counters the message of the Tebow Superbowl ad, and shows up the "domineering, condescending and arrogant" nature of the organization you are railing against. Then ask CBS (or any of the major media) to run it. The viewers can decide for themselves which position (pro life or pro choice) is worthy of this great country.

How a KY Senate Bill and a Super Bowl Ad Expose the Truth

As we were heading out the door for a meeting at church one recent Sunday evening, I overheard our 10 year-old daughter telling her 9 year-old brother (in her best parental tone) “Chase, put the football back!” In no uncertain certain terms, she wanted to make it clear to her brother that he shouldn’t bring his football along to the meeting. In case you didn’t know it, younger brothers do not like to be bossed around by their older sisters so I knew an argument was about to ensue. I quickly stepped in and told my daughter not to be so bossy. She replied (without the slightest hint of a smile), “I’m not being bossy; I’m just telling him what to do!”
When I gently pointed out to her that, in fact, telling her brother what to do was the very definition of being bossy, she realized that she was, indeed, guilty as charged. Fortunately, we were all able to laugh about her self-contradictory statement, and good humor was restored to the family unit.

A couple of news items in the last few days reminded me that it isn’t just my daughter who doesn’t always seem to understand the meanings of the words she speaks. The first was the news coverage of Kentucky Senate Bill 38, which requires doctors to show a woman an ultrasound image of her baby and explain how it is developing before performing an abortion. The second was the dust-up over a supposedly controversial ad featuring Florida football great Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam, that is to be shown during the Super Bowl.
The Courier-Journal called requiring a woman to have an ultrasound before killing her baby “a sleazy tactic” and, in what I’m sure they considered to be a stinging rebuke, said that SB 38 was “meant to discourage women from having abortions, no two ways about it.” Well, duh. Of course that is the bill’s intent. But I thought the battle cry among ‘pro-choicers’ was that they wanted abortion to be “safe, legal, and rare”. Maybe they really mean legal and as numerous as possible.
The Tebow ad, according to the group who produced it, shares “a personal story centered on the theme of 'Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life.’'' If you don’t know the Tebows’ story, it is a fascinating one. Pam gave birth to Tim despite advice from her doctor to abort because of illness during her pregnancy. Tim grew from a small, sickly child into a Heisman trophy-winning college quarterback. Why is that offensive?
I believe it is for exactly the same reasons that pro-abortion groups so strongly oppose SB38. As columnist Star Parker writes, “Pro-abortionists know that our existing legalized abortion regime can only continue as long as we keep the human face off abortion. It's why ultrasound has revolutionized this world. When young women who have doubts about taking their pregnancy to term see the live child within them, they overwhelming decide to give birth. You don't have to preach. They see that this is life and they know what to do. The Tebow story will put this human face on abortion for the 100 million or so who will watch the Super Bowl. Nothing could be scarier for the culture of death.”
The protests over both SB 38 and the Tebow ad expose the protesters as “pro-abortion” and not simply “pro-choice”. The New York-based Women’s Media Center, in their bid to censor the Tebow ad, called it an “attack on choice”. But, as columnist Matt Barber asks, "In what possible way is it an ‘attack on choice' for a woman to share the tale of how – when given two clearly defined options – she ‘chose' life over abortion? That's choice defined.”
Terry O'Neill, president of the National Organization for Women, said she respected the choices made by women such as Pam Tebow but condemned the planned ad as "extraordinarily offensive and demeaning." "That's not being respectful of other people's lives," O'Neill said. "It is offensive to hold one way out as being a superior way over everybody else's."
And that is the real issue, isn’t it? Any discussion like this necessarily brings up the possibility that abortion could actually be ‘wrong’.
Consider this question: Do you know any politician who says they think abortion is a good thing? Senator John Kerry summed up every ‘pro-choice’ politician’s argument this way: “Too many people in America believe that if you are pro-choice that means pro-abortion. It doesn't. I don't want abortion. Abortion should be the rarest thing in the world. I am actually personally opposed to abortion. But I don't believe that I have a right to take what is an article of faith to me and legislate it to other people.”

Now think about that for a moment. If an unborn baby is not alive or not human, why would anyone be against abortion? It would simply be just another elective surgery. But if an unborn baby is a living human, how could anyone be for abortion? The only reason that abortion would be wrong is if it were the taking of an innocent human life…namely murder. (So what ‘pro-choice’ politicians are saying is that, while they understand that abortion is murder, they can’t impose their moral opposition to murder on others. How absurd!)

Back in 1973, when Roe v Wade was tragically decided, it was based in large part on the idea that science couldn’t prove when life began. Now, however, with the advancement in ultrasound and our understanding of genes there is no longer any question scientifically--life begins at conception. Legal abortion is on the wrong side of morality, science and history; the tide of public opinion is turning and those who stand to lose a lot of money know it and are running scared.

I don’t mean to be bossy; I’m just telling you how it is.

Chuck Souder is on staff at Shelby Christian Church. If you have questions or comments for Chuck, he can be reached at csouder@shelbychristian.org