When I saw this I almost fell off my chair. I thought for sure they were playing some kind of trick. I mean, the Superbowl is NOT a platform for advertising moral viewpoints and for fighting about legal and moral issues and rights. It’s just not. And yet, here’s the article that show this IS the plan…like, seriously?!?!? Well, read it for yourself…

CBS to Air Anti-Abortion Ad During Super Bowl

Offender: CBS Executives

Media Outlet: CBS

The Offense: During the Feb. 7 telecast of the Super Bowl, CBS will air an anti-abortion commercial produced and paid for by the ultra-conservative group Focus on the Family.

NOW’s Analysis: Focus on the Family has an aggressively anti-abortion, anti-LGBT, anti-woman agenda. This ad reportedly promotes the decision of one woman to go against her doctor’s advice to terminate an at-risk pregnancy. While NOW would never disparage any woman’s reproductive choice, we believe that all women should be free to make the decision that is right for them. We also believe that this ad could potentially put women’s health and lives at risk by promoting ideology over medicine.

NOW President Terry O’Neil told the Associated Press that the planned ad is “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.”

It’s important to note that the Super Bowl is the most watched television event each year, with a broad audience spanning all demographics. In the past, CBS has turned down other advocacy ads it deemed controversial, including ads from MoveOn.org and the progressive United Church of Christ.

Women are vastly under-represented in high-level decision making roles at the television networks (and pretty much all media outlets). Despite this disadvantage, NBC managed to make the right decision last year, refusing to run an anti-choice ad during the Super Bowl. Anti-abortion forces are on the offensive. They don’t want to help women make informed decisions — they want to, in the words of Focus on the Family, make abortion “both illegal and unthinkable.” We must stand up to their campaign to deny women their fundamental rights.

Thanks to our friends at the Women’s Media Center for alerting us to this outrageous move by CBS.

Take Action: Write to CBS and tell them what you think about their decision to air the Focus on the Family ad.

Lisa Bennett, NOW Communications Director, January 26, 2010

I like how they specify that the commercial will be extremely offensive. Like 99% of non pro life extremists didn’t already know this, man! lol But seriously, this really isn’t a laughing matter. I am shocked and appalled that this company decided the airing of this commercial during this event would be ok. What about all the younger children who will be watching? Now some Dad will have to explain to his 7 year old daughter why if she ever got pregnant it would be right or wrong to abort it? Like, seriously? There’s a time and place for everything but the Superbowl and daytime TV really isn’t it.

I am trying very hard to be objective and only speak about the commercial itself, as I am pro choice with a helping of moral conscience. Meaning that I am pro choice, but not as a method of birth control, and not over and over because you can’t be bothered to grow up enough to either buy the pill or abstain from sex, but you reeeeaaalllly don’t want a baby either. But I am pro choice, specifically for reasons such as children conceived by rape, or severely damaged fetuses who won’t have any hope of leading a life off of a ventilator and not in extreme pain. In fact, this Superbowl ad idea was even harder to swallow after they hinted that it WAS going to be about choosing not to abort a very messed up fetus. Like, damn. You wanna take away medical necessity abortion (so both mother AND fetus can die together!! yayyy :-/) too?? You know what? NO. I can feel my blood boiling, and I can feel me getting hot under the collar… Breathe…

Ok, back to the ad though. Guys, use the link above in the article to get this commercial banned from being shown this Sunday. Soooo not cool y’all. I am disappointed with CBS, and if they do not pull that commercial from its slot, I will NOT agree to watch the Superbowl anywhere that uses CBS (which is fine, primarily because I just don’t watch football lol) but not only that, I will refuse to watch not only the station, but any program that is a CBS production. Think I’m joking? Watch and see…don’t wanna play with Ruby, I tell ya…

On my way to write that nasty, angry email now! Hope you join me!

Cheers