01/06/2010

Abortion Advert Sparks Complaints

There have been a relatively small number of official complaints on last month's advertisement on TV for abortion services.

The first UK TV commercial offering advice on abortion services has generated just 350 complaints to the advertising regulator, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).

The ad for sexual health charity Marie Stopes simply asks the question "Are you late?" in reference to how missing a period could mean pregnancy.

The ASA will now assess the complaints to see if there is grounds to investigate whether the TV commercial breached the advertising code.

Marie Stopes's controversial campaign, which anti-abortion campaign group Life has said is "grotesque", is not being aired by Channel 4 in Northern Ireland because abortion is still illegal in the province.

The advert also angered pro-life and Christian groups who sought Counsel's opinion before launching an unsuccessful legal action to stop the advert being aired.

See: First UK Abortion TV Advert To Air

(BMcC/GK)

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