London, 24 May 2010 – The television advertisement by Marie Stopes International, released this morning via The Guardian
The advertisement says: "If you miss your period, you could be pregnant. If you're pregnant and don't know what to do, Marie Stopes International can help."
Anthony Ozimic, SPUC's communications manager, commented: "The advertisement is deceptive, in that it doesn't explain what Marie Stopes is and what Marie Stopes does. Marie Stopes' main business is the killing of unborn children. Its telephone consultation line is an abortion booking service which puts women on a fast-track to abortion. 90% of the so-called services Marie Stopes provides in England and Wales are abortions. In 2008 they performed almost 600,000 abortions overseas. Most of its £100 million annual income comes from abortion and is spent on abortion, including campaigning for a right to abortion. (note 2)
"Marie Stopes advertises itself as an abortion provider on the London Underground but has soft-soaped its image in this Channel 4 advertisement. We can only conclude that this is a way for Marie Stopes to evade restrictions on advertising. We have written to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, urging him to use his powers and instruct Ofcom to block this advertisement (note 3). Women deserve better than abortion. We want the government to ensure that women are not misled by this kind of deceitful propaganda", concluded Mr Ozimic.
Notes: newspaper's website (see note 1 below), is deceptive, says the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC).
1) http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/video/2010/may/24/marie-stopes-ad
2) Marie Stopes International's Charity Commission return 2008 http://www.charity-commission.gov.uk/ScannedAccounts/Ends43%5C0000265543_ac_20081231_e_c.pdf
3) http://www.spuc.org.uk/campaigns/hunt20100524
