National Right to Life PAC ad rejected for being "too political"

Contact: Derrick Jones, 202-626-8825, National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), mediarelations@nrlc.org

WASHINGTON, Oct. 10 /Christian Newswire/ -- Today, National Right to Life received notice from ABC Radio Network that it would not air National Right to Life's ad entitled "Waiting for Obama's Apology," during Sean Hannity's radio program.  In an email to National Right to Life, ABC Radio Network executives claimed the ad, "while supporting aspects of a Pro-Life position, weighs more heavily toward electioneering." The ad, the text of which appears below, was to be paid for by National Right to Life Political Action Committee (NRL PAC), which is allowed to do "electioneering" under federal law.

"ABC's rejection smacks of being a politically motivated gag order," said Derrick Jones, NRLC Communications Director.  "It seems that the pro-Obama leanings of the mainstream media have overflowed into their sales departments as well.  To reject a political action committee's ad because they think it is too political, borders on the absurd."

The ad focuses on NRL's role in revealing that Obama had for four years misrepresented his record on the Illinois Born-Alive Infants Protection Act (BAIPA).

"Four years ago, NRL PAC ran electioneering ads supporting George W. Bush. ABC's lame excuse this year fails to hide their true motivation of helping Barack Obama conceal his extreme pro-abortion position from the American public," Jones added.

On August 11, NRLC released recently uncovered documents proving that Obama in 2003 had presided over a committee meeting at which he killed a version of the BAIPA that was virtually identical to the federal BAIPA that Congress had enacted, without a dissenting vote, in 2002.  This contradicted four years of statements by Obama on the matter.  When Obama was asked about NRLC's charges in a televised interview on August 16, he said that NRLC was "lying."  Independent investigations by FactCheck.org and Politifact.org have since concluded that NRLC's claim was accurate and that Obama's denial was not.  The ad refused by ABC quotes the FactCheck.org conclusion that "Obama is misrepresenting the contents of" the bill that he killed.

"The ABC gag rule is part of a broader pattern of behavior in which the mainstream news media filter out or distort the extremes of Obama's pro-abortion record, including his actions to block legislation to protect infants born alive following abortions in Illinois, his commitment to enact the so-called "Freedom of Choice Act," which would make partial-birth abortion legal again and nullify all parental notification laws, and his support for requiring taxpayer funding of abortion," said NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson, author of an article on the Obama abortion agenda published this week by National Review Online and posted at www.nrlc.org.

The ad is currently posted as a web ad on National Right to Life PAC's YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/nrlpac.  The text of the ad is below.

"Waiting for Obama's Apology"

Male:              
The following is paid for by National Right to Life PAC at nrlpac.org.  Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee, NRLPAC is responsible for the content of this advertising.

Female 1:    
In August, National Right to Life released documents proving that in 2003, Barack Obama was responsible for killing a bill to provide care and protection for babies who are born alive after abortions, and that he later misrepresented the bill's content. 

Male:  
When Obama was asked about National Right to Life's charges in a televised interview, he replied:  (quote)  "...I hate to say that people are lying, but here's a situation where folks are lying."

Female 1:    
We challenged Obama to admit that the documents are genuine, and admit to his previous misrepresentations.  FactCheck[dot]org then investigated, and concluded:

Female 2:    
(clinical, detached tone):  "Obama's claim is wrong . . .  The documents . . . support the group's claims that Obama is misrepresenting the contents of [Senate Bill] 1082."

Female 1:    
Was Obama afraid that the public would learn about his extreme position --  that he opposed merely defining every baby born alive after an abortion as deserving of protection?

Will Obama now apologize for calling us liars when we were the ones telling the truth?

Barack Obama: a candidate whose word you can't believe in.

Additional Resources:
August 18, 2008  NRLC White Paper: Obama Cover-up on Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Continues to Unravel After Sen. Obama Says NRLC is "Lying" www.nrlc.org/ObamaBAIPA/Obamacoveruponbornalive.htm

"Unholy Messaging" by Douglas Johnson (National Review Online article) posted at www.nrlc.org.