Secular Pro-Life
  • Home
  • About
    • Meet The Team
    • Mission and Vision
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Stances
      • Abortion
      • Religion
      • Contraception
      • The Rape Exception
    • Privacy
  • Content
    • Index
    • Blog
    • Presentations
      • A Secular Case Against Abortion
      • Building Bridges
      • Deconstructing Three Pro-Choice Myths
      • Overlooked Findings of the Turnaway Study
    • Research
      • Abortion Law and Abortion Rates
      • Abortion Law and Pregnancy Rates
      • Later Abortion
      • Embryonic Hearts
      • Abortion Views and Gender
    • Collections
      • For the biology textbook tells me so
      • They can hear you
      • Parents can hear you
      • Our children’s heartbeats
      • Becoming Pro-Life
      • Ask An Atheist
      • Fixed that meme for you
    • Print Materials
      • 100 Pro-Life Sign Ideas
      • Overview of SPL
      • 3 Reasons to tell people you’re pro-life
      • How to talk (not fight) about abortion
      • Bridges PRC Curriculum
      • FAQ
      • Presentations overview
    • Store
  • Contact
  • Get Involved
    • Why support SPL?
    • Donor Opportunities
    • Volunteer Opportunities
    • Volunteer Survey
    • More Surveys
      • Why do you support SPL?
      • Best and Worst Abortion Arguments
      • “Ask An Atheist” Interview
      • Non-Traditional Pro-Life Survey
      • LGBT Pro-Life Survey
      • Parents experiences with prenatal screening
  • Donate
  • Menu Menu

NYC Teen Pregnancy Prevention Ad Campaign

March 6, 2013/9 Comments/in Uncategorized /by LN

As pro-lifers, how should we approach teen pregnancy? On the one hand,
it’s important to keep teens informed about risks of pregnancy, ways to prevent
pregnancy, and challenges they will face if they become pregnant. On the other
hand, teens should know what resources are at their disposal during pregnancy and, at least as important,
that choosing life is the right thing to do. We need to consider both pregnancy
prevention and pregnancy support.  
Balancing these can be tricky. It’s the same challenge parents face
when they want to keep their teen from engaging in sex (often with good
reasons) but also want their teen to know how to be safer if the teen does decide to have sex. Finding that balance isn’t always straightforward, but it’s still necessary.
Consider the New York City Human Resource Administration (HRA) teen
pregnancy prevention program in which ads will be displayed in subways and bus shelters citywide. The HRA site says:

HRA’s new Teen Pregnancy Prevention campaign shows the high costs teen
pregnancy can have for both teen parents and their children. The campaign
features ads with hard-hitting facts about the money and time costs of
parenting, and the negative consequences of having a child before you are
ready.

Obviously teen pregnancy isn’t a walk in the park. But people who advocate for messages like
this:

and this:


don’t seem concerned with how this affects the abortion rate. HRA intends these ads to be preventative, but how do they look to a teen who is already pregnant, or has already gotten someone pregnant?
Imagine a pregnant teen. She feels as if the rug has been pulled out
from under her. She’s completely frightened, and unsure where to turn. Will these ads encourage her to choose life?
Preventing abortion means preventing pregnancy and supporting mothers. Ad campaigns like this ignore half of the equation–probably because the goal is just to prevent birth. I understand trying to prevent pregnancy, but how can we do that while still supporting those who are already pregnant? What are the best methods to warn teens about the challenges of pregnancy without inadvertently pushing them to get abortions? 

Related Posts

Tags: teen pregnancy
Share this entry
  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Pinterest
  • Share on LinkedIn
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share by Mail
https://i0.wp.com/secularprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/rbk-teen-pregnancy-ads-mdn.jpg?fit=270%2C283&ssl=1 283 270 LN https://secularprolife.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/SecularProlife2.png LN2013-03-06 14:52:002021-11-08 12:38:00NYC Teen Pregnancy Prevention Ad Campaign
You might also like
Pro-life win against censorship!
Fewer Abortions & Fewer Births: CA Teen Pregnancy Reduced by Sex Ed?
Does the “16 & Pregnant” franchise decrease teen birth rates?
Volunteer!
How a militantly pro-choice young lady switched sides
Pro-lifers should support free day care in high schools
Pregnant? Don’t come to our school.
Your Stories: Unwed Pregnancy and the Church
9 replies
  1. Jameson Graber
    Jameson Graber says:
    March 6, 2013 at 3:10 pm

    There are a lot of messed up messages one can read in these posters.

    Log in to Reply
  2. Natalie
    Natalie says:
    March 6, 2013 at 3:20 pm

    Yeah. This reads pretty manipulative to pregnant teens to me.

    Log in to Reply
  3. Joan Hall
    Joan Hall says:
    March 6, 2013 at 4:50 pm

    A friend of mine had an uninvited adoption agency worker talk that same kind of stuff to her in her hospital room, trying to coerce her to give up her newborn for adoption. She was 16. (She kept her baby, who is now a grown man.)

    Log in to Reply
  4. Kelsey
    Kelsey says:
    March 6, 2013 at 5:23 pm

    Wow, that is outrageous. I'm an attorney, and what you're describing definitely violates legal ethical rules (at least, as they stand today). If an adoption attorney did that, he or she could be sanctioned by the bar. Even if the agency worker isn't an attorney, but is merely under the *supervision* of an attorney, it's definitely not okay. I'm glad to hear that your friend stood up to that bully! Adoption is a good path for some, but it isn't for everyone. And a decision of that magnitude certainly shouldn't be made under pressure right after you've given birth!

    Log in to Reply
  5. Blessing Palyo-Herman
    Blessing Palyo-Herman says:
    March 6, 2013 at 7:18 pm

    It happens with abortion! So much so that there is a legal fund for it:
    http://thejusticefoundation.org/cafa/

    Log in to Reply
  6. both sides are bad so vote R
    both sides are bad so vote R says:
    March 7, 2013 at 11:14 pm

    The message is, "don't have unprotected sex". The message is not, "go get an abortion" you might think that secretly they want women to get an abortion but that's just not true, sorta like how pro-lifers secretly hate contraception even though they say they only hate abortion– wait that's not a good analogy.

    Log in to Reply
    • Anonymous
      Anonymous says:
      March 8, 2013 at 8:08 pm

      Abortion and contraception are both ant-life and therefore gravely immoral. The purpose of sex is to pro create. Its for marraige.

      Log in to Reply
  7. Laura Nicholson
    Laura Nicholson says:
    March 9, 2013 at 2:30 am

    The message is a poor one, whatever you say. Even PP thought so:

    “The latest NYC ad campaign creates stigma, hostility and negative public opinions about teen pregnancy and parenthood rather than offering
    alternative aspirations for young people,” Haydee Morales, vice president of education and training at Planned Parenthood’s New York office, said in a statement released on Wednesday."

    SPL is not anti-contraception. Sorry to be confusing.

    Log in to Reply
  8. tkchubb
    tkchubb says:
    February 15, 2014 at 3:20 pm

    To me it appears you may have missed the point. The point is to make teens consider the real consequences of GETTING pregnant. While well written, your position stresses supporting the teen during her pregnancy, but provides little insight into how to help the children. These ads show the stark reality of the lives of these babies that are born to teen mothers who chose life but did not choose adoption. If Pro Life organizations put half as much money, energy, passion, and human capital into supporting the children born to these teens as they do in trying to convince them to have their babies (and of course choose the best alternative, adoption) perhaps the statistically proven fate of these children could be changed. I understand that your mission is to save unborn babies, I get that…but what about the extremely poor, under-educated, malnourished children who are living in your community right now? Preventing unwanted pregnancy is the solution to both of these issues.

    Log in to Reply

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Follow via Email

* indicates required

Categories

  • Ableism
  • Abortion pills
  • Administrative
  • Adoption & Foster Care
  • Biology
  • Bodily Rights
  • en español
  • Later Abortion
  • Legislation, laws, & court cases
  • Miscarriage & Pregnancy Loss
  • Personhood
  • Philosophy
  • Pro-Life Demographics
  • Rape Exception
  • Religion
  • Research
  • Speeches, Discussions, Presentations
  • SPL Emails
  • They Can Hear You
  • Top SPL Articles
  • Top SPL Graphics
  • Uncategorized
  • We Asked You Answered
  • Year In Review
  • Your Stories

Archive

It’s crucial that we demonstrate that anyone can–and everyone should–oppose abortion. Thanks to you, we are working to change minds, transform our culture, and protect our prenatal children. Every donation supports our ability to provide nonsectarian, nonpartisan arguments against abortion. Read more details here. Please donate today.

DONATE
SUBSCRIBE
© Copyright 2025 Secular Pro-Life. All rights reserved. Website Design by TandarichGroup

Related Posts

Pregnant Woman Fired for Premarital Sex Working Mothers
Scroll to top
Want to receive our email newsletter?

We’d be happy to keep in touch. Subscribe for access to our newsletter and other updates.