Graphic Anti-Abortion Ads to be shown during the Super Bowl

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Super Bowl commercials are often the stuff of legend. The E Trade baby. Cat herding. The house built entirely of beer. I know there’s a football game going on in there somewhere, but the commercials are wonderful. This year, however, one man is going to try something new.

super bowl, randall terry, commercials, madmikesamerica.com

Randall Terry, the founder of Operation Rescue, is running for president. As a Democrat. Mr. Terry has been arrested fifty times for his anti-abortion efforts and spent a year in jail. Mr. Terry has discovered an interesting loophole in the laws of the Federal Election Committee that ensures ads for political candidates cannot be prohibited within 45 days of an election. Apparently, primaries count as well, so Randall Terry will be running anti-abortion ads in 40 cities during Super Bowl XLVI on February 5th.

Remember the Janet Jackson wardrobe malfunction? The outrage, the threatened boycotts, the FINES? Well, it seems that Randall Terry has managed to circumvent typical network standards by exploiting the loophole for political candidates. He will be able to run horrifically graphic and disturbing ads during the Super Bowl, and it doesn’t look like anyone can do a thing about it.

The Colorado paper the Greeley Gazette notes that Terry has already run political ads showing images of aborted fetuses in New Hampshire, attacking President Obama for supporting “child killing.” The Gazette also wrote: “This means that states that fall within the 45 days window will have to run the graphic ads during the Super Bowl if he purchases the slots.” Randall Terry’s campaign says they have the ads ready to go; the first was purchased on January 6th.

Mr. Terry has four of these ads up at his website. I debated whether to include a link to them, but I chose not to. They are extremely graphic and disturbing, and if you wish to see them, you are free to visit his site, which you may notice I did not link, either. I went to his site, and I looked at the images. That was enough.

Abortion is another “dog whistle” topic in the current political climate. It doesn’t matter that the majority of people who call themselves “pro-life” also support the death penalty and believe it is perfectly fine to murder an abortion doctor. Randall Terry himself was pleased when Dr. George Tiller was gunned down, saying Dr. Tiller “reaped what he sowed.” So, by their logic, save the fetus above all else, but if it grows up to commit a capital offense, or becomes a doctor who performs abortions, kill, kill, kill.

If Randall Terry raises enough money to actually go through with this, children will see these ads. Perhaps women who made the choice to have an abortion will see these ads. People who are already consumed and obsessed with the rights of cells over the rights of actual people will see these ads, and what do you think might happen? In my opinion, it could lead to more violence. Anti-abortion activists love to blow up abortion clinics, they love to post addresses of entire staffs of clinics on the Internet, inciting people to “visit” the doctors and nurses who perform abortions. They cheered the murder of Dr. Tiller. They think nothing of putting white powder in envelopes and mailing those envelopes to clinics nationwide during the Anthrax scare. Arson, firebombing, firing weapons into private homes, throwing acid. Anti-abortion violence is a prevalent part of the pro-life movement, and incendiary ads such as the ones Randall Terry is trying to run during the Super Bowl will do nothing to curb the tide. In fact, those ads could quite possibly increase the violence. But Randall Terry doesn’t care.

Do you? What would you do if one of these ads aired in your city during the Super Bowl? Let MMA know.

Thanks to Think Progress.org, Media Matters and, grudgingly, Randall Terry’s own website for information contained in this article.

About Post Author

Erin Nanasi

Erin Nanasi is an avid underwater basket weaver, with a penchant for satire and the odd wombat reference.
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Cando
11 years ago

I believe the network needs to be asking its lawyers to work hard to find some way to block this because it will reflect on it if these ads are aired. I am so tired of selfish individuals imposing their “morals” on others. When I was a teenager, I was stopped at a red light on a main road in front of an abortion clinic in Atlanta. A protester came over to my car and tried to get me to talk to him. When I did not look, he thrust a large clear plastic bag of fetal parts in my car window. The light changed and I was able to drive off. I can clearly remember today, over 30 years later, how angry the whole experience made me.

liz
12 years ago

It should be pointed out that aborted fetuses look the same as miscarried fetuses. This disgusting shaming of women only hurts the prolife cause, as Milton pointed out. I blame Tim Tebow & his mom for opening the door to these holier-than-thou advocacy ads.

12 years ago

Mr. Formby is correct. These types of ads turn me off and I’m a pro life person.

Just as the left has it’s nuts who think they are morally superior, aka. the people protesting the dog wearing sneakers ad, the right has it’s share also as in this Terry who thinks he’s helping but actually hurting the pro life cause with his shock ad.

Bill Formby
12 years ago

Erin, there is a point where these pro lifers may well reach that well turn even some of their supporters against them for throwing their graphic realities into the face of face of children without permission. PETA faced this backlash and I suspect that any group, well intentioned or not, can hurt its cause by trying to force people to see things they don’t want to see.

Mike Smith
12 years ago

I don’t think ANYBODY, conservative or liberal, would willingly move to Canada. Ugh, canada…

12 years ago

I live in Canada! We’re not nearly as stupid as Americans. That kind of advertising wouldn’t even come close to being accepted. However, if America elects a Republican (AKA…Religious, Right-wing, Fruit-cake, anti-science, just plain dumb ) individual, who knows what kind of influence it would have on Canada.

Erin N.
Reply to  RickRay
12 years ago

I can tell you exactly what influence it will have on Canada-a bunch of smart, terrified liberals will want to move there, pay taxes and become Canadian! If these ads run, we’re watching “The Puppy Bowl.”

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