FRONT ROYAL, Va., Feb. 5 /
Christian Newswire/ -- For several weeks, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PPFA) has been sitting on the sidelines while its cohorts attacked CBS Television for agreeing to air a pro-family commercial during the Super Bowl. It seems the hierarchy of the abortion-committing group did not want to come off looking as ridiculous and petty as their counterparts. Just in time, two former pro-abortion leaders, Frances Kissling of "Catholics" for a Free Choice and Kate Michelman of NARAL Pro-Choice America, have come to the rescue of the rarely silent PPFA.
In an opinion piece published in The Washington Post, Kissling and Michelman chided their pro-abortion contemporaries for opening their mouths before thinking and failing to see a failed strategy when they were in the midst of the debate. The pair argued that "picking on Tim Tebow and his mom is not the way to go." They said that instead of criticizing or trying to censor the ad, "the pro-choice movement needs its own Super Bowl strategy."
"Pam Tebow was indeed courageous and had the legal right to choose," Kissling and Michelman conceded. However, they argued that those who choose abortion are equally courageous, and this is the key point that should be made when talking about the ad. They offered up a specific suggestion:
We'd go with a 30-second spot, too. The camera focuses on one woman after another, posed in the situations of daily life: rushing out the door in the morning for work, flipping through a magazine, washing dishes, teaching a class of sixth-graders, wheeling a baby stroller. Each woman looks calmly into the camera and describes her different and successful choice: having a baby and giving it up for adoption, having an abortion, having a baby and raising it lovingly. Each one being clear that making choices isn't easy, but that life without tough choices doesn't exist.
Pressure from fellow pro-abortion activists and the wise words of Kissling and Michelman led PPFA President Cecile Richards to release a statement, which was primarily used to attack Focus on the Family and draw attention away from the point of the commercial. Shortly thereafter, PPFA released two videos responding to the ad:
One video features former college and professional football player Sean James and Olympic gold medalist Al Joyner:
JAMES: I'm Sean James. I'm a former college and professional football player.
JOYNER: I'm Al Joyner. I won an Olympic gold medal in the triple jump.
JAMES: I love my family and I love sports.
JOYNER: And Super Bowl weekend is a perfect time to honor both--sports and family.
JAMES: There's a lot of talk leading up to this Super Bowl about an ad focused on sports and family. The ad features a great football player, Tim Tebow, and his loving mother discussing a difficult medical decision she made for her family. I respect and honor Mrs. Tebow's decision.
JOYNER: I want my daughter to live in a world where everyone's decisions are respected.
JAMES: My mom showed me that women are strong and wise. She taught me that only women can make the best decisions about their health and their future.
JOYNER: My daughter will always be my little girl, but I'm proud every day as I watch her grow up to be her own person--a smart, confident young woman. I trust her to take care of herself.
JAMES: We are working toward the day where every woman will be valued; where every woman's decision about her health and her family will be respected.
JOYNER: We celebrate families by supporting our mothers; by supporting our daughters; by trusting women.
In the other video, Richards does a great job utilizing the strategy suggested by Kissling and Michelman:
Super Bowl television ads get a lot of attention and this year one ad is getting the lion's share. We hear that it will feature a football player, Tim Tebow, and his mom talking about a deeply personal medical decision she made years ago. She decided to continue her pregnancy, despite some serious risks. And people have been asking us at Planned Parenthood what we think about Pam Tebow's decision and it's simple. Planned Parenthood trusts every woman to make her own important personal medical decisions. Pam Tebow weighed medical and moral considerations and decided what was right for her and her family. And she did so in private and without government interference. That's exactly what we want every woman to be able to do.
"The new tactics being employed by pro-abortion leaders is brilliant," said Douglas R. Scott, Jr., president of Life Decisions International, a Planned Parenthood watchdog organization. "The James/Joyner video is slick. Like Tim Tebow, the men are articulate and come across as sincere, caring individuals." Scott said the Richards video is also good, but "merely espouses the quintessential argument that has been used by abortion apologists for decades. It has just been softened a bit and repackaged."
While Scott is impressed by the PPFA videos, he points out that the words spoken by the trio demonstrate just how unscrupulous the group can be. "This is nothing but nice-sounding rhetoric that evades the real issue. Moreover, the videos do not show the public the extreme nature of Planned Parenthood's agenda."
"James, Joyner and Richards do not want to talk directly about abortion. Every word that leaves their mouths presents a 'let's all get along and let everyone do whatever they want to do' and 'let's celebrate and praise the decisions of those who choose to kill their children just as we might celebrate and praise those who choose to bring a new life into the world.' As usual, the crux of the matter is ignored," Scott said.
"This is not a question of trusting women; it is a matter of life and death. The bottom line is that if Pam Tebow had followed the advice of her doctors and those who support 'reproductive choice', Tim would have been killed. And this would have been a tragedy if he had grown up to become a janitor, a clerk, a teacher, a car salesman, a president, or even a football star. 'Choices' are not equal. Choosing death for another should never be 'celebrated', 'praised', or 'respected'. While we should always give others the basic respect due anyone created in the image of God, we can never 'respect' the opinions or actions of those who support evil."
Both PPFA videos may be viewed by clicking here for James/Joyner and here for Richards.
Life Decisions International (LDI) is dedicated to challenging the Culture of Death, concentrating on exposing and fighting the agenda of Planned Parenthood. LDI's chief project is a boycott of corporations that fund the abortion-committing giant. To learn more about Planned Parenthood, please click here.
