UK doctor calls for ban on abortion clinic ads, says they promote promiscuity

[Honey]

A plan to allow daytime advertising for condoms and abortion clinics has drawn concern from some UK doctors, including Dr. Mark Pickering, who believes that "sexy" abortion clinic ads will only promote promiscuity amongst teens.
"We know that TV is a powerful medium which gives young people messages that sex is fine, sex is great and they are not getting enough of it," Pickering says, "It is full of beautiful young people jumping in and out of bed with each other. Allowing abortion services to advertise on TV would then be saying, 'Here is a quick medical fix for the consequences of having sex.' That is giving all the wrong messages and is very disturbing. If you are not changing the underlying messages, simply saying here is how to sort it out when it goes wrong is not going to help."
Oh, right, "changing the underlying messages." That, I believe, is code for "sex is bad bad bad, wrong wrong wrong, you shouldn't have it, how dare you consider a safe and legal option in the event of an unplanned pregnancy. Shame on you, women! How dare you have sex and then make choices about your bodies! The television has warped your minds and led you down a path of sin! Sinner! Sinny sin sinner!" Methinks this isn't really a medical issue for Pickering as much as a moral one: isn't it a bit strange for a doctor to want to deny potential patients information about and access to safe and legal medical procedures?

Interestingly enough, a quick Google scan also pulls up a UK doctor by the name of Mark Pickering who just happens to be the student secretary for the Christian Medical Fellowship, an organization of doctors who are currently protesting the ads on the grounds that they are "unnecessary and unethical," though it is impossible to be sure if it is the same Dr. Mark Pickering.
The ads will be up for debate next Sunday, when doctors come together for a British Medical Association meeting. One hopes they will decide that information and education is a better option than hiding legal services from those who need them. Teens are going to have sex; at the very least, we should be sure that they are well aware of all of their options.

Jezebel - UK Doctor Calls For Ban On Abortion Clinic Ads, Says They Promote Promiscuity - Abortion

[Grimmlok]

um.. SEXY abortion ads?!

[Sarzy]

Why do we need ads for abortions anyway? I agree with condom ads though.

[Kittylady]

I haven't seen these adverts (I tend not to watch much tv these days) but I hear that one of the ads that came under fire was for Marie Stopes clinics, which deal with contraception, counselling and other sexual health matters as well as abortion. That makes me wonder if the real agenda is to get rid of anything that promotes sexual health awareness on TV, with abortion being the most emotive part of these services to be used by the repressive flag-wavers.

[sputnik]

^^^^
of course that's the real agenda. these are the same reasons they use for wanting to get rid of sex ed in schools: that it promotes promiscuity in teenagers.
what they don't get is that teenagers are going to fuck regardless and it's better if they go into it prepared and wear a condom than fuck in total ignorance and end up pregnant or sick.

[Kittylady]

Promiscuity is a fact of life - always has been and always will be, its just that in latter days it was hidden away and not spoken of, with the end results being hushed up in unmarried mother and baby homes and adoptions outside and inside of the family (there are so many people who grew up and discovered years later that their "sister" or "cousin" was actually their birth mother) and the horror of back street abortions.

You are totally correct, Sput, in saying that young people are going to have sex regardless and if we want people to make safe choices we have to give them the tools to make them with, and from a young age, especially in this day and age where they are bombed with so many sexualised images as they grow up. I would rather have a 14 year old who was sexually active but taking all the necessary precautions (the pill AND condoms) and aware of the need to have regular checks and take care of her health than bury my head in the sand and pretend that it wasn't happening right up until she couldn't hide her pregnancy or illness any more. I wouldn't be bloody happy at all about them having sex at such a young age, but as you can't lock them up I'd do everything I could to ensure that she was protected and not afraid to seek help or advice should she need it.

[lurkur]

LOL, just like if teens ever drive by a hospital, they'll begin joyriding recklessly.