ADVERTISING STANDARDS AUTHORITY
RULES PRO-LIFE BILLBOARD "OFFENSIVE"
The Advertising Standards Authority
of South Africa (ASA) has ruled that
the Christian Action Network's
billboard stating "Abortion Kills
Babies," is "offensive" and must be
withdrawn.
The side of the mobile billboard in
question reads "Since 1997 700 000
[updated in 2010 to 1 000 000]
babies have lost their right to
life. Abortion kills babies. 'Choose
Life so that you and your children
may live'" next to a picture of
an 18 week old pre-born baby sucking
its thumb.
The other side of the billboard, not
considered in the ASA ruling,
depicts an 8 week-old pre-born baby
and states "8 weeks after
conception: heartbeat, brainwave,
fingerprints, hiccups, somersaults,
thumb sucking. 'Speak up
for those who cannot speak for
themselves...'"
This is incredibly hypocritical of
the ASA to rule a tastefully
presented pro-life billboard
offensive when they allow billboards
from strip joints, with highly
suspected involvement in
trafficking, to depict half-naked
women as sex objects!
The mobile pro-life billboard has
been used twice a year by CAN for
over 10 years as part of their
pro-life demonstrations - on the
National Day of Repentance (1
February) - the anniversary of the
legalisation of abortion in South
Africa outside Parliament, and
secondly on International Life Chain
Sunday. These demonstrations are
legal according to the Regulation of
Gatherings Act, so is the ASA
suggesting that the many hundreds of
placards also stating that "Abortion
Kills Babies" are also illegal?
The complainant stated to the ASA
that billboard is offensive because
abortion is legal and likened the
billboard to "white supremacists
stating their racist views"!
Apartheid and slavery were also once
legal, but legality has never made
anything right. Abortion is legal,
but that cannot make killing babies
right. We have the Constitutional
right to freedom of speech to speak
up for the Right to Life of pre-born
babies.
In
our response to the woman's
complaint submitted to the ASA, we
pointed out that NGOs have
billboards with pictures of pre-born
babies and warnings not to drink or
smoke whilst pregnant, as it could
"harm your baby". In their judgement,
the ASA stated that our message, in
contrast to such billboards, is not
one of "social responsibility" but a
"viewpoint on moral values,
something substantially more
subjective and intimately personal"!
We
are convinced that speaking up for
the right to life of pre-born babies
is our social responsibility and we
will be appealing this ruling as a
clear violation of our
Constitutional right to freedom of
speech and freedom of religion.
Please pray that God would grant us
wisdom as we draft our appeal (we
will be asking an attorney for
advice) and for God's favour in the
final decision.
It
is notable that the ASA, paid by the
advertisers, so often rules in
favour of strip joint advertisers'
adverts offensive to many South
Africans, yet rules a billboard
stating the obvious truth that
"abortion kills babies", as
"offensive" to the hypothetical
"reasonable person"!
At
all our Life Chains we collect baby
items which are donated to a Mission
dedicated to helping the destitute
and those facing a crisis pregnancy.
"Speak up for those who cannot
speak for themselves..."
Proverbs 31:8
Mavericks Billboards Promote
Adultery
Two new Mavericks billboards in Cape
Town - one on the N1 highway (going
towards Cape Town, just before
Pardin Island turnoff) and the other
on Kloof Nek Road (Cape Town
central), blatantly promote
adultery.
The billboards advertise a new
cologne for men called "Alibis". One
blogger aptly renamed this cologne
"the stench of sleaze".
Both billboards depict a half-naked
woman in a lewd pose, lying on her
stomach and the words, "I was
working late". There are three
schools within a 1km radius of the
Kloof Nek Road billboard and it is
close to a children's park.
These billboards are encouraging
males to lie to their wives in order
to commit adultery at strip joints,
with women who are very likely to
have been trafficked (enslaved)!
Both billboards stereotype women as
sex objects.
The more complaints the ASA
receives, the more they will get a
sense of how ordinary South Africans
feel about such billboards.
What You Can Do:
Send your complaint with your name,
address and ID number to:
The Advertising Standards Authority,
complaint@asasa.org.za
or fax: 011- 781 1616.
Taryn
Hodgson
Africa Christian Action
PO Box 23632
Claremont
7735 Cape Town
South
Africa
Tel: 021-689 4481
E-mail:
info@christianaction.org.za
Web:
http://www.christianaction.org.za/
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