Written by Megan Tackney, Program Associate,
National Women's Law Center
We would like to give Ms. Tebow a one-person-in-a-quiet-room round of applause for having the opportunity to make the choice that was right for her.
Recently, CBS has found itself front and center in a debate over an ad about abortion to be run during the Super Bowl by the controversial organization, Focus on the Family. The ad features Pam Tebow, mother of football player Tim Tebow, talking about her decision to continue her pregnancy even after doctors told her that her life was in danger if she went through with the pregnancy.
Ms. Tebow had an important decision to make that many women face every day. Provided with her options, she chose to keep the pregnancy. In coming forward and describing her experience, we would like to say: thank you Ms. Tebow (and CBS) for reminding us how hard that choice must have been for you. We hope that you will not forget to highlight the part of your story where you were asked, "What do you think you should do?" In the chaos of script writing, please don't skip over that line about the choice you were given.
And in that message to women watching the Super Bowl, I hope many won't think that you are criticizing them should they make the hard choice to end their own pregnancy.
As the face of choice, we hope that you won't disregard the stories of many other women while you are telling your own. Please don't mislead the millions watching the Super Bowl into thinking that we should remove the right of choice, the one you so coveted in that doctor's office.
But, that's not what you are trying to do, is it?
Cross-posted from NWLC's Blog
0 TrackBacks
Listed below are links to blogs that reference this entry: To Ms. Tebow at the Super Bowl: You Had a Choice.
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.feministing.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.fcgi/18137
I have held my stance that she is nothing but a spokesperson for their organization for a reason. I will bet you anything that once she gets her screen time, she will most definitely not state that she was given a choice to terminate or to keep the baby but will present a very skewed view on how she decided to keep her child despite the fact that she was pressured into having an abortion. This will be deliberate and I will feel sick when my family is watching that commercial and I hear a soft "Awww...how sweet" coming from the other room.