'Pro-choice' ad exalts life

It's been almost three years since I started writing this column, and there are a few topics I've tackled more than once.

Abortion is one of them.

The definition of "rights" is another.

Super Bowl commercials have graced this column a time or two.

Lo and behold, the day has come when all three shall meet.

Pam Tebow and her son, Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow, will appear in a 30-second ad during the Super Bowl to tell the story of a choice Pam made when she was pregnant with Tim in 1987.

During a mission trip to the Philippines with her family, Pam contracted a dangerous infection that threatened her life and the life of her unborn child. She was urged by her doctor to end her pregnancy, but she chose to keep the baby.

She chose.

The ad, however, has drawn serious scrutiny from critics who call it anti-abortion and inappropriate for a sporting event.

The groups claim the ad is out of line because it dictates a pro-life stance to America during the most watched sporting event of the year.

I'll say it again: Pam Tebow chose.

Isn't that what Roe vs. Wade was all about, granting women an opportunity to choose to keep or terminate pregnancies? Those in support of Roe. vs. Wade so often tout "the right to choose" as their battle cry. Those same groups are now calling the Tebow ad anti-abortion. I guess we'll find out when it airs, but unless they say, "Abortion is wrong and no one should ever do it," it sounds like a pro-choice ad to me.

How's that for irony? A pro-choice ad that exalts life.

I applaud Mrs. Tebow for choosing to keep her baby, and I applaud her and her son for starring in an ad that tells an often unheard story: a woman facing a high-risk pregnancy and making a decision that rang true and right for her no matter what anyone else said.

Her son grew up to win the Heisman Trophy, but he could have just as easily been born with severe disabilities, and she could have died in childbirth. They both could have.

So why are these pro-abortion groups so furious that the Tebows would air their personal story through an ad during the Super Bowl?

Various organizations, including The Women's Media Center, signed a statement sent to CBS urging them "to immediately cancel this ad" because it "uses one family's story to dictate morality to the American public, and encourages young women to disregard medical advice, putting their lives at risk," according to an article in the Washington Post.

The same could be said for advertisements promoting birth control, the morning-after pill and abortions. All three can put a woman's life at risk.

Even more, by censoring the commercial, pro-abortion groups would be limiting the Tebows' right to free speech while dictating their own version of morality to America.

Pot, meet kettle.

What are these groups so afraid of anyway, that a woman might see the ad and decide not to end her pregnancy? Are they so terrified that a child might be born and wanted?

Some claim the ad will spark violence, such as the shooting of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller. Violence, however, is not spawned from telling the truth of a situation; it is spawned from ignorance. The Tebow ad tells a truth: the true story of one woman's choice and the life that resulted from it.

To be ignorant, one must lack knowledge and experience.

So bring on the Tebows' pro-choice ad so viewers can know about one woman's experience. If Focus on the Family, the Tebows and other donors are willing to shell out $3.2 million for the 30-second spot, and CBS is willing to approve the ad - which they've done with no opposition from the NFL - it should run. I would say the same for an abortion commercial, despite my personal beliefs.

You see, apparently unlike the pro-abortion crowd, I'm strong enough in my convictions to not worry that one itty-bitty 30-second commercial is going to change my mind.

CBS isn't concerned either. The network released a statement claiming, "Our standards and practices process continues to adhere to a policy that ensures all ads on all sides of an issue are appropriate for air."

So, CBS got to choose, too.

(Nicolov, an assistant editor at The News-Item, writes "Don't Get Me Started" for each Friday edition.)

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