Several well-known television stations are refusing to air a pro-life ad that emphasizes the value of life in the womb, deeming the content “controversial.”
The Daily Wire reports that CBS, CMT, and the Hallmark channel will not show a 30-second spot from the Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List that was first released last week.
The advertisement is part of the group’s $2 million campaign “highlighting the humanity of unborn children as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a landmark abortion case.”
In an email to SBA List, CBS explained that “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.
An official with CMT, originally launched as Country Music Television, offered a similar response but indicated that it would “unacceptable” to air such a disputable ad.
“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 wrote in an email.
And Crown Media, which owns Hallmark, told SBA List that they could not endorse the ad because it would impact the enjoyable experience Hallmark strives to give viewers.
The ad campaign follows an announcement that the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from the state of Mississippi, which is seeking to can ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
The ad, which is paid for by the SBA List Education Fund, “doesn’t issue any calls to action to Congress or attack any candidate or politician,” the group said.
The pro-life group added, “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.”
Susan B. Anthony List responded to the channels’ rejection of the ad in a tweet on Wednesday.
“BIG MEDIA corporations like @CBS & @hallmarkchannel BANNED our pro-life TV ad, claiming it’s too ‘controversial.’ The right to LIFE is NOT controversial!”