National Abortion Federation Affirms Rejection of Anti-Abortion Ads

Today we released the following statement in response to Advertising Standards Canada’s (ASC) declaration that an anti-abortion ad campaign launched in January by Life Canada is “deceptive”:

We concur with the decision of Advertising Standards Canada to reject this
deceptive ad campaign. These ads violated standards for acceptable advertising
by using misleading images and misinformation to advance an agenda of banning
abortion. We commend ASC for affirming that advertisements must be truthful and
accurate.

The controversial ads featured an image of a pregnant woman with text that read, “Nine months: the length of time abortion is allowed in Canada. No medical reason needed. Abortion, have we gone too far?”

Eighty-two percent of abortions in Canada are provided during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, according to Statistics Canada. In reality, doctors in Canada only provide abortion care after 23 weeks 6 days from a woman’s last menstrual period if a woman’s health or life is at risk or the fetus has a lethal anomaly.

Cities across Canada including Fredericton, New Brunswick and Kelowna, British Columbia refused to run these ads due to their “offensive” and “controversial” nature. The ads were also pulled from public transportation in Hamilton, Ontario prior to this decision by ASC.

Women facing an unwanted pregnancy deserve accurate information, not this type of politically motivated propaganda.

NAF provides unbiased, factual information about abortion care through our toll-free Hotline (1-800-772-9100) and website (www.prochoice.org).