By John Jalsevac
Note: The petition in support of the Kelowna Right to Life ad can be found here. The Facebook group in support of the ad can be found here.
February 4, 2010 (LifeSiteNews.com) – At the same time as the United States is embroiled in a controversy over a pro-life ad featuring football super-star Tim Tebow, which is set to air during the Super Bowl, a Canadian pro-life group has been informed that a local television station will not run its pro-life ad – despite the station having previously agreed to do so.
Kelowna Right to Life, a pro-life organization located in British Columbia, sponsored the ad, which was designed by Priests for Life, New York. The ad begins with the slogan, “Everyone against abortion, please raise your hand,” and then shows an adult hand holding up the hand of a child killed by abortion.
It was set to air on CHBC, an affiliate of Global TV, and was approved by the Television Bureau of Canada, which screens advertisements for objectionable content. But on Thursday morning, apparently under the influence of its parent station, Global TV, CHBC said it would not run the ad after all.
Now Canadian pro-lifers are stepping up in support of the ad, charging that the television station is engaging in “viewpoint discrimination” for suddenly pulling the spot from the airwaves. One pro-life organization, Campaign Life Coalition (CLC), has launched a nation-wide petition effort to gather support for the ad, and to urge the station to reconsider its decision.
“Executives at CHBC and Global TV are claiming that they’re pulling the ad because it’s too ‘graphic,’” said CLC President Jim Hughes. “However, not only was the ad approved by the Television Bureau, but what it depicts is no more graphic than what is shown nightly on the six o’clock news.
“Global should be honest and admit that they’re pulling the ad either because they’re afraid of controversy, or because they don’t believe that the viewpoint expressed in the ad should be allowed to be presented to the public, which amounts to censorship. Either way, we find their actions to be unacceptable, and we urge all pro-life Canadians to express their outrage to Global and CHBC.”
Marlon Bartram, Kelowna Right to Life's executive director, expressed his disappointment with CHBC on Thursday morning, after being informed of the station’s decision. “One of the fundamental purposes of media is to identify truth and show truth,” said Bartram. “When they fail to do that they are compromising their own purpose and their fundamental reason for being.”
“In the United States we have witnessed CBS stand up to pro-abortion pressure to cancel the Tim Tebow ad,” said CLC National Coordinator Mary-Ellen Douglas. “Sadly Global Television has not shown the same level of back-bone. However, just as tens of thousands of pro-lifers in the U.S. have stood up in support of Tebow and Focus on the Family, we hope that Canadian pro-lifers will refuse to sit on the sidelines as their ability to tell the truth about abortion is trampled on.”
Kelowna Right to Life has also launched a Facebook group in support of the ad, which is starting to gather supporters. That group can be found here.