TV commercials for abortion in the UK?

As American pro-lifers continue to follow the Susan G. Komen story (which, frankly, has mushroomed beyond all reason at this point), I want to make sure you don’t miss this important development in the United Kingdom. Due to a reform that opens the airwaves to for-profit commercials, the United Kingdom’s thirty-five abortion businesses may soon begin advertising abortion on television:

“This is an extremely disappointing decision,” said Mark Bhagwandin, of the pro-life charity Life. “The abortion industry has a lot of money behind it and these companies will have the means to run prime time television and radio advertising campaigns. This will trivialise and commercialise the decision to terminate a baby, putting it on the same footing as choosing other products advertised on television. I have no doubt that we will see a rise in abortions as a result of this.”

The article notes that there is no guarantee that the abortion businesses will take advantage of the change. There is, after all, a good chance of negative publicity. That’s a fair point, but it seems to me that once one abortion business breaks that barrier, they’ll all start advertising in order to stay competitive. At the end of the day, it all boils down to money.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the UK’s premiere pro-life advocacy group, has expressed concern that the new law will be applied in a discriminatory fashion, so that abortion businesses will be free to advertise but pro-life abortion alternative centers will not.  SPUC is urging pro-lifers to contact their members of Parliament. Abortion centers can be blocked from advertising, but only if Jeremy Hunt MP, who is responsible for a media-related statutory regulatory body, is moved to act. Hunt is reportedly pro-life, but is reluctant to act without a clear mandate from the people. Pro-life Brits need to speak up and be heard!