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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
NOW Opposes Stupak Amendment
Health Care Bill Must Drop Abortion Language, Include Public Option
Call or send a message by clicking here to your senators and House member asking them to assure that restrictive abortion language in health care reform legislation be withdrawn, that a strong public plan is included, that age discrimination is removed, that better cost control measures are included and insurance is made truly more affordable for everyone.
For more info go to http://www.now.org/lists/now-action-list/msg00417.html
Contact both Senators at the office closest to you.
Senator Dick Durbin WASHINGTON, D.C.
309 Hart Senate Bldg.
Washington, DC 20510
9 am to 6 pm
(202) 224-2152 ph
(202) 228-0400 fx
CHICAGO
230 S Dearborn St.
Suite 3892
Chicago, IL 60604
8:30 am to 5 pm
(312) 353-4952 ph
(312) 353-0150 fx
SPRINGFIELD
525 South 8th St.
Springfield, IL 62703
8:30 am to 5 pm
(217) 492-4062 ph
(217) 492-4382 fx
MARION
701 N. Court St.
Marion, IL 62959
8:30 am to 5 pm
(618) 998-8812 ph
(618) 997-0176 fx
Senator Roland Burris Washington DC Office 387 Russell Senate Office Building Washington, DC 20510 Ph: 202-224-2854 Fx: 202-228-3333
Chicago Senate Office Kluczynski Federal Building 230 S. Dearborn, Suite 3900 Chicago, IL 60604 Ph: 312-886-3506 Springfield Senate Office 607 East Adams, Suite 1520 Springfield, IL 62701 Ph: 217-492-5089 Fx: 217-492-5099
Moline Senate Office 1911 52nd Avenue Moline, IL 61265 Ph: 309-736-1217 Fx: 309-736-1233 Carbondale Senate Office 250 W. Cherry Street, Suite 204C Carbondale, IL 62901 Ph: 618529-7471 Fax: 618-529-7540
Learn More About Local Actions
Attend a chapter meetings on the second Wednesday of the month at 7:00 pm at the DuPage Unitarian Universalist Church (DUUC), 4S535 Old Naperville Road, Naperville, IL in the Founders Room. Go to the DUUC website for directions.
We can be reached by email at dupagenow@gmail.com and sign up for our email list. You can also join us on Facebook at DuPage, IL NOW Chapter.
Escort At Local Women's Clinics
Escorting takes place on Wednesday and Saturday mornings from approximately 8:30am to 10am at Aanchor Health Center in Glen Ellyn. We escort to make the patients feel more comfortable and to drown out the anti-choice protestors who show up to harass the patients and clinic workers. For more information, email dupagenow@gmail.com; Norm, our reproductive rights chair and chapter Secretary, will contact you.
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Contact The Media
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Get Active In A NOW Campaign
Save the Supreme Court
Protect the court from a right-wing takeover
by anti-woman, anti-civil rights judges
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Win full marriage rights for same-sex couples
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