Today when I was reading “The Times” I came across an article about Channel 4s new advert for abortion marketed by Marie Stopes International, a charity which specialises in abortion. The article is written by Rosemary Bennett, a Social Affairs Correspondent and it discusses if the Ad which will be releasing next week on Channel 4 should be banned or if the ad is a good way of sharing contact information for those who need it. Critics say that the ad could have an effect of encouraging young women to take abortion as a safe option and have sex without contraception whereas Channel 4 and Marie Stopes feel that it is important to talk about the topic of abortion more openly and decrease the teenage pregnancy rate. The ad features women who are worried about their period being late and do not know what to do.
The positive aspects of the ad would be that the teenage pregnancies rate would probably go down as many teenage girls are scared to think about abortions as they do not know who to approach and how to deal with it. Giving out a contact number on TV could lead many girls who are late on their period to call up the charity and inform themselves. I believe that it is useful to know who to get in touch with if you need information.
On the other hand an ad on TV could be interpreted as “promotion” of abortion and could lead to a changing discourse in peoples mind as something that had been seen as “bad” or “inhuman” would now appear as an intelligent option suggested by one of the country’s finest channels. . The ad could also lead to encourage more teenagers and adults to have sex without contraception as the option of abortion through the advertisement on national television may seem “okay”.
Considering the content of the ad Marie Stopes states: “We do not use the term ‘abortion’ because we would never assume that someone wants an abortion”. I find the quote very ironic as they say that they do not assume that someone wants an abortion but clearly the advertisement is about abortion and the charity which deals with 65,000 abortions a year. What exactly do they want to achieve with the ad otherwise? They also explain that they receive 350,000 calls a year and not all callers seek an abortion. They might not call to seek an abortion at first but maybe they do after the phone call with a charity that specialises in that field.
I personally believe that abortion should not be an open topic. Yes abortions happen- they have been happening in the past, are happening and will not ever stop but to openly speak about it on national television will definitely not help decreasing the abortion rate in England, which is 195,296 (2008) a year. (Times, 2010) One of three British women goes through an abortion. I believe that one should directly contact their GP if one does not know how to deal with the “not getting the period” situation as the GP can advice you appropriately or send you somewhere else for further guidance. For teenagers, the ad might be helpful as it an easy way to gain information, for adults on the other hand I feel it will only have a function of promoting abortion. According to me Channel 4 and other TV channels should focus more on advertising condoms/contraception. No contraception leads to pregnancies so why not try to solve the initial problem first rather than trying to advertise abortion.
\
