Tim Tebow to appear in anti-abortion Super Bowl ad

[Texsox]

Hypothetically speaking, how would you react if a group ran an ad encouraging women to end a pregnancy if their doctor advises it? Say, they brought out a famous woman who had received that diagnosis and made that decision.

 

I think it would be even more valuable than this one. That choice, I would hope, would be a very difficult one and the woman, and her family, would probably need some support. Either path that is chosen involves risks and emotional stress.

[Controlled Chaos]

That's some ridiculous spin. A commercial that says "You're free to come to our church no matter who you are," is never more controversial than an ad that takes a side on a seriously hot button political issue. TV stations promote specific denominations all the time through paid advertising. Ask Jack VanImpe, ask Benny Hinn, ask the late Billy Graham for that matter. Most religious programming on non religious channels are paid programming. And if you're seeing them on NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, WGN, Telemundo or Channel 50 in Chicago - that money is going to the network - because those stations are all owned by networks.

 

If abortion isn't a political issue, you might have wanted to tell all the folks at the Catholic League and the priests and bishops who called for John Kerry's excommunication in 2004 because he supports a legal right to choose.

 

This is all about money or respect. I think times are tough for TV, so if the UCC ad tried to air at the Super Bowl, it would get the nod today - because this is all about money. If it couldn't than its an issue of whose views are worth respecting - and that's pretty disappointing to think about.

I certainly didn't mean to spin anything, I was simply giving my honest opinion. Yeah there's paid programming on networks, but that seems different to me. If you want to tune in to that stuff, you do.

 

Abortion was made into a political issue for votes, but to everyone else it is a grueling decision they have to make. I'm pretty dam sure when they're making it they're not thinking "What would my political party do"

 

Maybe it is about money...I don't know...but like I said...I don't think choosing life is hot button. If the commercial was about taking away the choice, then I see the argument and hypocrisy and I wouldn't want a commercial like that on during the superbowl. But one that just says choose life????....It's sad people are against that.

[bmags]

To someone facing the same choice as the Tebow's faced, and my heart goes out to them, there is some value in the message. Perhaps seeing what other women (perhaps couples) have gone through may be of some help and assistance. I'm surprised Soxy does not see any value in examples, both pro and con. Seeing others that have been through the same thing someone is facing can be wonderful support. I thought that is one basis for group therapy, but I may have been sleeping that day in class. Do you think someone with ALS might look towards Lou Gehrig for some inspiration? Someone with a terminal disease reading about Brian Piccolo or Walter Payton. From cancer survivors to weight loss champions, there is value in that.

 

If the debate raises awareness regarding birth control and unwanted pregnancy, it has served a useful purpose. I have no words for those that believe abortion is a reasonable form of birth control.

 

I do not believe someone should have to give up their rights of free speech because they are famous. Who are you to tell someone who to vote for? Who are you to share your opinion on a message board? Who are you to speak about anything? You are a human being and you should have that right. Just as we have the right to ignore you. Tim Tebow is someone who has an opinion and by stating his opinion, he can make a much bigger difference, good and bad, than other people. I believe he should be careful in how he uses that power, as I would say to anyone else.

 

Who are the athletes that advocate for staying in school, not smoking or doing drugs. Isn't that a personal choice?

 

I can't believe this ad gets people more upset than all the violence towards women on TV and in video games. Urging a woman to choose life over death -- Bad. Killing or raping a few women for hours in a video game? Cool

 

And it's not like he's a random spokesperson.

 

What a shame that so many toss away our right to free speech so easily.

 

free speech has nothing to do with what a private company decides to air on the most watched tv program of the year.

[Texsox]

free speech has nothing to do with what a private company decides to air on the most watched tv program of the year.

 

Really? So the size of the audience matters?

[southsider2k5]

Despite what you have been told, size always matters.

[Texsox]

Despite what you have been told, size always matters.

 

The last fist fight I was in, circa 1982, was over that very matter. And perhaps there was a free speech issue there as well.

[bmags]

free speech is about government, so unless the FCC says that they cannot put this add on, it has nothing to do with free speech.

[lostfan]

ok. Like I said I didn't realize people were pro abortion, I thought it was pro choice. I honestly felt the fight is about letting a woman choose and even pro-choicers are still happy when that choice ends up being life over abortion. If I'm wrong, I'm wrong.

That's for the most part true, and this really gets lost in translation, sometimes on purpose. If I'm trying to explain it and I'm not getting through or the person starts mocking/insulting me I'll just start dropping bait or deliberately trying to offend them, i.e. "don't you know, I can't even function without eating a burned fetus in the morning" just so I can get their attention.

[lostfan]

Really? So the size of the audience matters?

Well it doesn't have anything to do with what a private company wants to put on in the middle of the night during a show with low ratings, either.

[witesoxfan]

I certainly didn't mean to spin anything, I was simply giving my honest opinion. Yeah there's paid programming on networks, but that seems different to me. If you want to tune in to that stuff, you do.

 

Abortion was made into a political issue for votes, but to everyone else it is a grueling decision they have to make. I'm pretty dam sure when they're making it they're not thinking "What would my political party do"

 

Maybe it is about money...I don't know...but like I said...I don't think choosing life is hot button. If the commercial was about taking away the choice, then I see the argument and hypocrisy and I wouldn't want a commercial like that on during the superbowl. But one that just says choose life????....It's sad people are against that.

 

It seems as though when an issue such as this does not come to a personal decision, it does become political in its tendencies and people will argue about it. There's an 8 page thread on an internet message board right now.

 

At this point in my life, I'm pro-choice. That will likely change as my life goes on with the issue, but I'm not about to argue with someone who is telling me to reconsider my choice right now. In the end, if said person came across in a polite manner, I'd probably thank them for their thoughts, shake their hand, smile politely, and walk away with a completely unchanged opinion.

[StrangeSox]

Can we all agree at least that Tim Tebow is a giant tool, regardless of this issue?

[southsider2k5]

Can we all agree at least that Tim Tebow is a giant tool, regardless of this issue?

 

I can see how being kept from never existing would have a pretty powerful impact on how you would view somethings...

[bmags]

Can we all agree at least that Tim Tebow is a giant tool, regardless of this issue?

 

Jorts are inexcusable.

[Rex Kickass]

Maybe it is about money...I don't know...but like I said...I don't think choosing life is hot button. If the commercial was about taking away the choice, then I see the argument and hypocrisy and I wouldn't want a commercial like that on during the superbowl. But one that just says choose life????....It's sad people are against that.

 

It's even more sad that people are against a message of "You're always welcome at my church."

[iamshack]

To someone facing the same choice as the Tebow's faced, and my heart goes out to them, there is some value in the message. Perhaps seeing what other women (perhaps couples) have gone through may be of some help and assistance. I'm surprised Soxy does not see any value in examples, both pro and con. Seeing others that have been through the same thing someone is facing can be wonderful support. I thought that is one basis for group therapy, but I may have been sleeping that day in class. Do you think someone with ALS might look towards Lou Gehrig for some inspiration? Someone with a terminal disease reading about Brian Piccolo or Walter Payton. From cancer survivors to weight loss champions, there is value in that.

 

If the debate raises awareness regarding birth control and unwanted pregnancy, it has served a useful purpose. I have no words for those that believe abortion is a reasonable form of birth control.

 

I do not believe someone should have to give up their rights of free speech because they are famous. Who are you to tell someone who to vote for? Who are you to share your opinion on a message board? Who are you to speak about anything? You are a human being and you should have that right. Just as we have the right to ignore you. Tim Tebow is someone who has an opinion and by stating his opinion, he can make a much bigger difference, good and bad, than other people. I believe he should be careful in how he uses that power, as I would say to anyone else.

 

Who are the athletes that advocate for staying in school, not smoking or doing drugs. Isn't that a personal choice?

 

I can't believe this ad gets people more upset than all the violence towards women on TV and in video games. Urging a woman to choose life over death -- Bad. Killing or raping a few women for hours in a video game? Cool

 

And it's not like he's a random spokesperson.

 

What a shame that so many toss away our right to free speech so easily.

 

The entire point is that this is not some simple decision. This is NOT like Danica Patrick trying to sell me a domain name. This is NOT like some sports-playing clydesdales trying to sell me beer. This is NOT Britney Spears trying to sell me a soft drink. The reason those messages work so well in a commercial forum is that the messages are inspiring us to do something extremely trivial. Something that should take about 30 seconds of thought to decide on. Something that if I make an error in judgment, because I believed everything that was said or portrayed in the 30 seconds, will only result in me having wasted a few bucks and experiencing a beer I really didn't like.

 

What Tim Tebow, his mother, and this organization are attempting to do is sell us their beliefs and their product in 30 seconds, just like Doritos, GoDaddy.com, and Anheuser-Busch. However, their message is much more serious, much more impactful, much more personal, and MUCH MORE COMPLEX than something that fits well in between a Doritos commercial, a Pepsi Commercial, and a bunch of families and friends sitting around the living room trying to forget about what a crappy world we live in right now. Instead, I have to sit and listen to Tim Tebow, some holy rolling jock, tell me that if my wife or mother or girlfriend or whomever, is facing medical risk due to a pregnancy, that she should gamble with her life in the hopes of birthing the next Heisman Trophy winner. Well, I'm sorry, that message just isn't meant to be given in 30 seconds to a bunch of Americans trying to enjoy themselves on a Sunday afternoon/evening.

 

And who the f*** am I, you ask? Well I'm not going on tv telling other people what to do. I'm not trying to shove my beliefs down the minds of others by putting my big mug in front of them in a forum traditionally saved for selling $3 bags of chips and guilt-tripping pregnant mothers with risk of injury or their lives to do what I tell them to do. Tim Tebow has every right to his opinion, and he can try and use him fame and notoriety to make as much wealth or do as much good as his little heart desires. But don't use it for the wrong reasons, and don't try and turn something so complex as a medical risk decision into a damned 30 second guilt trip during a day which is traditionally a carefree and fun day for Americans.

 

As for your point about violence and sex on tv and in video games, there is a time and place for everything. The world as we live in it is not a perfect place. It involves violence and sex and some bad things. The best we can do, other than shelter our children from it until adulthood (so that they freak out when they encounter it in reality), is to compartmentalize it into a certain place where parents know where to expect it, and therefore have a chance to make a decision about whether to allow their children to consume it on their own. What the Tebow's and this organization are doing, is springing themselves on an American public hoping to enjoy an afternoon of football and creative advertising, along with family and friends, without them expecting it. Then perhaps all the children watching the game will start asking questions, and young couples faced with the decision will think, well, the Tebow's did it, and look how Tim turned out (I know, I exaggerate). Honestly, there is a time and a place for this message, and it is not during the Super Bowl.

 

And finally, what do you say to the widowed husband, whose wife took the pregnancy to term and passed-away during labor, leaving him with 2 small children and no wife or mother? Should he do the commercial for the next Super Bowl? Maybe we can have him on the screen with pictures of his dead wife and his mourning children. Sound good?

Edited January 21, 2010 by iamshack

[BigSqwert]

I think I'm in love with you.

[MexSoxFan#1]

That is a tough call to go back to associations... We elected President's despite their associations with all kinds of nasty people and subjects.

I'm still wondering how W got elected with his ties to the oil mafias and Darth Vader

 

Tebow sucks and he's gonna fail in the NFL, so who cares what he thinks

Edited January 21, 2010 by MexSoxFan#1

[Texsox]

The entire point is that this is not some simple decision. This is NOT like Danica Patrick trying to sell me a domain name. This is NOT like some sports-playing clydesdales trying to sell me beer. This is NOT Britney Spears trying to sell me a soft drink. The reason those messages work so well in a commercial forum is that the messages are inspiring us to do something extremely trivial. Something that should take about 30 seconds of thought to decide on. Something that if I make an error in judgment, because I believed everything that was said or portrayed in the 30 seconds, will only result in me having wasted a few bucks and experiencing a beer I really didn't like.

 

What Tim Tebow, his mother, and this organization are attempting to do is sell us their beliefs and their product in 30 seconds, just like Doritos, GoDaddy.com, and Anheuser-Busch. However, their message is much more serious, much more impactful, much more personal, and MUCH MORE COMPLEX than something that fits well in between a Doritos commercial, a Pepsi Commercial, and a bunch of families and friends sitting around the living room trying to forget about what a crappy world we live in right now. Instead, I have to sit and listen to Tim Tebow, some holy rolling jock, tell me that if my wife or mother or girlfriend or whomever, is facing medical risk due to a pregnancy, that she should gamble with her life in the hopes of birthing the next Heisman Trophy winner. Well, I'm sorry, that message just isn't meant to be given in 30 seconds to a bunch of Americans trying to enjoy themselves on a Sunday afternoon/evening.

 

And who the f*** am I, you ask? Well I'm not going on tv telling other people what to do. I'm not trying to shove my beliefs down the minds of others by putting my big mug in front of them in a forum traditionally saved for selling $3 bags of chips and guilt-tripping pregnant mothers with risk of injury or their lives to do what I tell them to do. Tim Tebow has every right to his opinion, and he can try and use him fame and notoriety to make as much wealth or do as much good as his little heart desires. But don't use it for the wrong reasons, and don't try and turn something so complex as a medical risk decision into a damned 30 second guilt trip during a day which is traditionally a carefree and fun day for Americans.

 

As for your point about violence and sex on tv and in video games, there is a time and place for everything. The world as we live in it is not a perfect place. It involves violence and sex and some bad things. The best we can do, other than shelter our children from it until adulthood (so that they freak out when they encounter it in reality), is to compartmentalize it into a certain place where parents know where to expect it, and therefore have a chance to make a decision about whether to allow their children to consume it on their own. What the Tebow's and this organization are doing, is springing themselves on an American public hoping to enjoy an afternoon of football and creative advertising, along with family and friends, without them expecting it. Then perhaps all the children watching the game will start asking questions, and young couples faced with the decision will think, well, the Tebow's did it, and look how Tim turned out (I know, I exaggerate). Honestly, there is a time and a place for this message, and it is not during the Super Bowl.

 

And finally, what do you say to the widowed husband, whose wife took the pregnancy to term and passed-away during labor, leaving him with 2 small children and no wife or mother? Should he do the commercial for the next Super Bowl? Maybe we can have him on the screen with pictures of his dead wife and his mourning children. Sound good?

 

 

Who are you to tell me what I should and should not listen to? Freedom of speech is too big of an issue for you to even have an opinion on, so why are you trying to push your views on me? This is far more important that what beer I drink.

 

And in your example You also make damn certain that that widower does not meet anyone in that same situation who moved past that and successfully raised the kids. Knowing someone else went through the same thing would be terrible.

 

Why should non beer drinker or alcoholic be subjected to beer ads when they are trying to have a fun afternoon watching a game?

 

Sorry that someone suggesting that choosing LIFE would be so revolting and sickening to some of the people here.

[Texsox]

f***, do you people see all the pharmaceutical ads that run? Where the hell is the outrage over all the drug pushing? In 30 seconds they list some symptoms so you can diagnose yourself, then tell you what drug to take. And no one here has ever mentioned it. But an add that no one has even seen, raises this much s***?!

[BigSqwert]

Sorry that someone suggesting that choosing LIFE would be so revolting and sickening to some of the people here.

 

You're good at stating things that never happened.

[BigSqwert]

f***, do you people see all the pharmaceutical ads that run? Where the hell is the outrage over all the drug pushing? In 30 seconds they list some symptoms so you can diagnose yourself, then tell you what drug to take. And no one here has ever mentioned it. But an add that no one has even seen, raises this much s***?!

 

I like when you compare apples and oranges. When was the last time a doctor's clinic was bombed or a doctor murdered for providing claritin or cialis?

[kapkomet]

I like when you compare apples and oranges. When was the last time a doctor's clinic was bombed or a doctor murdered for providing claritin or cialis?

 

 

I dunno - there's plenty of bombs out there for cialis, unfortunately.

[iamshack]

Who are you to tell me what I should and should not listen to? Freedom of speech is too big of an issue for you to even have an opinion on, so why are you trying to push your views on me? This is far more important that what beer I drink.

 

And in your example You also make damn certain that that widower does not meet anyone in that same situation who moved past that and successfully raised the kids. Knowing someone else went through the same thing would be terrible.

 

Why should non beer drinker or alcoholic be subjected to beer ads when they are trying to have a fun afternoon watching a game?

 

Sorry that someone suggesting that choosing LIFE would be so revolting and sickening to some of the people here.

Tex,

I am posting on a message board, where people post their opinions. This topic was placed in the filibuster subforum - it's intended place. If people want to get involved in these sort of issues, they can specifically seek out this forum, read the waiver, and then state their opinions in a respectful way.

 

I am not stating these opinions in the Pub forum. I am not stating them in PHT. I'm stating them back here in the filibuster - the appropriate forum.

 

And I certainly am not telling or asking anyone to choose life or choose abortion or choose medical risk over abortion or anything of the sort. I am arguing that the Tebow's ad is ill-conceived and ill-placed for consumption, and that they should deliver their message in some other forum. Say in pamphlets or videos, available in clinics and medical facilities. Even available on the web. Where people in that situation seek their organization out DELIBERATELY. Not in a Super Bowl ad.

 

As for alcoholics having to deal with beer commercials during the Super Bowl, do you REALLY think that is analogous? Do you REALLY believe that an alcoholic having to see a beer commercial is that similar to 100 million or however many Americans watch the Super Bowl having to watch Tim Tebow preach to them about choosing life when you're a mother at medical risk? Are you seriously going to argue that?

 

As for your silly Free Speech argument, do you see me arguing anywhere that the Tebow's and this organization should not be allowed to run their ad? Am I stating that CBS should prohibit them from running their ad? No. There is quite a distinction between arguing that the ad is ridiculous and misplaced and ill-conceived and purely STUPID, and that they should not lawfully be able to run it. And I am clearly arguing the former.

Edited January 21, 2010 by iamshack

[iamshack]

f***, do you people see all the pharmaceutical ads that run? Where the hell is the outrage over all the drug pushing? In 30 seconds they list some symptoms so you can diagnose yourself, then tell you what drug to take. And no one here has ever mentioned it. But an add that no one has even seen, raises this much s***?!

As for this example, what is the difference between pharmaceutical advertisements pushing their products, and what the Tebow's and this organization are doing here? I need a physician to PRESCRIBE these drugs to me. I need to go into a doctor, and regardless of how badly I may want to take Lipitor, if I don't need it, or if it will likely do me harm because of some other health problem or some other drugs I am currently taking, that physician will not prescribe it to me.

 

However, if I am a mother, and I am pregnant, and there is a significant or larger than customary risk involved in me taking that pregnancy to term, guess what? I can say F' off Dr. Jones, I am taking this pregnancy to term and that is my natural inalienable right in this country. So regardless of whether you agree, regardless of whether you beg and plead with me not to take this pregnancy to term, I am doing just that, and there is nothing you can do about it.

 

 

[Jenksismyhero]

 

I disagree with nearly all of this, and I'm a pro-choice guy who's not religious at all.

 

The entire point is that this is not some simple decision. This is NOT like Danica Patrick trying to sell me a domain name. This is NOT like some sports-playing clydesdales trying to sell me beer. This is NOT Britney Spears trying to sell me a soft drink. The reason those messages work so well in a commercial forum is that the messages are inspiring us to do something extremely trivial. Something that should take about 30 seconds of thought to decide on. Something that if I make an error in judgment, because I believed everything that was said or portrayed in the 30 seconds, will only result in me having wasted a few bucks and experiencing a beer I really didn't like.

 

You ignore the countless commercials for finding a bank for a mortgage, goods/services to upgrading your home, taking prescription drugs, investment advice, etc etc, all things that shouldn't just be bought up in 10 seconds simply by seeing some hot broad show some cleavage, yet they're still advertising their product without such a negative response.

 

Instead, I have to sit and listen to Tim Tebow, some holy rolling jock, tell me that if my wife or mother or girlfriend or whomever, is facing medical risk due to a pregnancy, that she should gamble with her life in the hopes of birthing the next Heisman Trophy winner. Well, I'm sorry, that message just isn't meant to be given in 30 seconds to a bunch of Americans trying to enjoy themselves on a Sunday afternoon/evening.

 

Really? You can't just tune it out, like everyone tunes out every other commercial that's on tv? And I think there's a huge assumption here on what the message is. If they both scream at the tv "ABORTION IS MURDER, YOU"RE GOING TO BURN IN HELL IF YOU DO IT" then I'd agree with you. But that won't be the message. The message will be - i valued the life of my unborn son, despite the odds. That's an option you can choose too.

 

And who the f*** am I, you ask? Well I'm not going on tv telling other people what to do. I'm not trying to shove my beliefs down the minds of others by putting my big mug in front of them in a forum traditionally saved for selling $3 bags of chips and guilt-tripping pregnant mothers with risk of injury or their lives to do what I tell them to do. Tim Tebow has every right to his opinion, and he can try and use him fame and notoriety to make as much wealth or do as much good as his little heart desires. But don't use it for the wrong reasons, and don't try and turn something so complex as a medical risk decision into a damned 30 second guilt trip during a day which is traditionally a carefree and fun day for Americans.

 

Is it really that awful to say "hey baby's are important too?" And again, I don't think they're going to be telling people what to do, I think they're going to tell people that abortion is serious business and that you should consider the alternative.

 

As for your point about violence and sex on tv and in video games, there is a time and place for everything. The world as we live in it is not a perfect place. It involves violence and sex and some bad things. The best we can do, other than shelter our children from it until adulthood (so that they freak out when they encounter it in reality), is to compartmentalize it into a certain place where parents know where to expect it, and therefore have a chance to make a decision about whether to allow their children to consume it on their own. What the Tebow's and this organization are doing, is springing themselves on an American public hoping to enjoy an afternoon of football and creative advertising, along with family and friends, without them expecting it. Then perhaps all the children watching the game will start asking questions, and young couples faced with the decision will think, well, the Tebow's did it, and look how Tim turned out (I know, I exaggerate). Honestly, there is a time and a place for this message, and it is not during the Super Bowl.

 

I suppose. But I think the message is a good one, so why not celebrate the fact that for 30 seconds out of a 6 hour broadcast someone actually states something meaingful versus shoving boobs/beer/chips in my face?

 

And finally, what do you say to the widowed husband, whose wife took the pregnancy to term and passed-away during labor, leaving him with 2 small children and no wife or mother? Should he do the commercial for the next Super Bowl? Maybe we can have him on the screen with pictures of his dead wife and his mourning children. Sound good?

 

I don't think that's the intent behind the commercial. Again, it's "hey, here's our story, we didn't immediately think about aborting our child, maybe you should think about that too."