By Karna Swanson
CHICAGO, Illinois JAN. 27, 2010 (Zenit.org).- A 30-second ad that celebrates life and the family will air during the Super Bowl next month. For Brian Burch, president of CatholicVote.org, it’s a proud moment for all who uphold the dignity of human life.
The ad in question was created and paid for by Focus on the Family, which reported earlier this month that it has already finished shooting the spot, and that it will air during the Feb. 7 national professional football championship game. The sporting event, which will pit the New Orleans Saints against the Indianapolis Colts, will air on CBS.
The spot, which reportedly cost the organization some $2 million to air during the game, will feature college football quarterback and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators, and his mother, Pam.
«They will share a personal story centered on the theme of ‘Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life,'» reported Focus on the Family, who also noted that the ad was paid for by donations directly specified for the project, and not from the ministry’s general fund.
Bob and Pam Tebow were living in the Philippines as Christian missionaries in 1987 when Pam, pregnant with Tim, was advised by doctors to terminate her pregnancy.
She was suffering from a life-threatening case of amoebic dysentery, contracted through contaminated food and water, and needed to take an aggressive regimen of drugs to fight the infection. The medicine, she was told, would cause irreversible damage to her unborn child, and her doctors advised an abortion.
Pam Tebow refused. She carried the pregnancy to term and gave birth in August to a healthy baby boy.
Reasonable policy
Burch, who unsuccessfully attempted to run a life-affirming ad last year on NBC during the same sporting event, told ZENIT he was «pleased to hear that CBS […] has adopted a far more reasonable ad policy for the Super Bowl.»
NBC refused to run the Catholic Vote spot that featured President Barack Obama and concluded with the tagline, «Life: Imagine the Potential.» The network’s decision was reportedly based on a policy not to run advocacy ads.
Burch said he was also «encouraged by the news that the content of the Tebow ad will be uplifting and positive, which is something we tried to achieve with our Super Bowl ad last year.»
«The Super Bowl is simply the greatest media platform to witness to the truth of the dignity of every human life,» he added.
Several organizations that promote the woman’s right to abortion, including the Women’s Media Center and the Feminist Majority Foundation, have launched a campaign urging CBS to pull the ad.
Burch commented that the fact that there is a campaign against the ad, which no one has yet to see, «is sad.»
«The abortion industry is losing the public debate and rapidly losing the allegiance of more and more Americans,» he said. «And thus these groups are now resorting to attacking a message that simply celebrates life. I believe their feigned outrage is going to backfire once people see the ad.»
Burch praises the fact that the ad will air, saying it «speaks volumes about our movement.»
«We are growing more confident and more effective every day,» he added. «Anyone who has been involved in efforts to affirm the dignity of human life should feel proud next Sunday when this ad is broadcast to hundreds of millions around the world.»
