Another Super Bowl, Another Ad Controversy

NOW, Women's Media Center part of coalition objecting to anti-abortion message in a Super Bowl ad featuring Heisman winner Tim Tebow

By Natalie Finn Jan 26, 2010 2:20 AMTags
Tim TebowJordan Strauss/Getty Images

Let Coca-Cola, Ford, Bud Light and Doritos peddle their wares on Super Bowl Sunday. Let anti-abortion activists preach on their own time.

That is the heart of the message a coalition of women's groups is sending to CBS, which as of now is planning to air a 30-second spot paid for by the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family and featuring Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow, which critics fear will convey an anti-abortion message to female viewers.

The ad, whose slogan is "Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life," features Tebow, who wrapped up his University of Florida career with a Sugar Bowl win this month, and his mom, Pam.

Pam reminisces about being pregnant with Tim while on a missionary trip in the Philippines. She fell ill and was advised to have an abortion. She ignored the advice, and the rest is BCS Championship history.

Tebow, for one, is standing by his choice to appear in the commercial.

"I know some people won't agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe," the athlete, a Family, Youth and Community Sciences major in college, told reporters Sunday.

"I've always been very convicted of it because that's the reason I'm here, because my mom was a very courageous woman. So any way that I could help, I would do it."

Focus on the Family president and CEO Jim Daly said that a "handful of very generous and committed friends" came up with the roughly $2.5 million it's costing for a 30-second Super Bowl spot this year.

"Tim and Pam share our respect for life and our passion for helping families thrive," Daly said in a news release announcing the ad. "Focus on the Family is about nurturing that desire and strengthening families by empowering them with the tools they need to live lives rooted in morals and values."

The Women's Media Center, the National Organization for Women, Feminist Majority and others don't quite see it that way.

"As united organizations dedicated to reproductive rights, tolerance, and social justice, we urge you to immediately cancel this ad and refuse any other advertisement promoting Focus on the Family's agenda," reads the ad hoc coalition's letter to CBS and the NFL.

"CBS executives have indicated in the past that they would not air Super Bowl ads where 'substantial elements of the community [are] in opposition to one another."

Citing the history of violence against doctors who perform abortions and the recent murder of Dr. George Tiller in Kansas, the letter continued pointedly: "We sincerely hope you do not want CBS associated with this brand of un-American hate."

The New Orleans Saints will be taking on the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV at Florida's Sun Life Stadium on Feb. 7.

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