Controversy has erupted across the entire nation, because CBS has decided to air an ad that stars the Florida Gator’s quarterback Tim Tebow and his mother. The controvercial commercial that will be airing during the Super Bowl has a pro-life message.The Super Bowl commercial has a personal story where Tim’s mother Pam, tells a story about her fifth pregnancy, and the ad is paid for by a conservative Christian group called, “Focus on the Family.”
In the commercial Tim’s mother talks about how she was a missionary in the Phillipines when she found out she was expecting her fifth child. She goes on to explain that she contracted an illness while in the country. When she found out that she was ill, the doctors had advised her to have an abortion, because they believed the medical treatments would harm the unborn child.
Pam Tebow decided not to have the abortion, despite the doctors advice and warning. In August, 1987 she gave birth to a baby boy.
According to Fox news a pro-life group calls the ad, “un-American hate, that does not deserve to be aired during an American pastime.” Also, the group claims that the group, “Focus on the Family,” is “homophobic” and “anti-equality.” Many are speaking out against the commercial, but there are those who do support the ad.
At West Chester University students have mixed feelings about the commercial. The commercial has some people talking. When asked, the students gave their honest opinons on whether or not the commercial with the pro-life message should be aired during Sunday’s game. A 21-year old female student of WCU said, “My answer to that is yes, I definitely believe it should be aired during the Super Bowl! What better time to reach an enormous amount of people about a message about family! Apparently the word ‘abortion’ does not even appear in the ad, and as Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, has said, ‘Our message is about family and if we’re saying family is political, I think we’ve got deeper issues in this country.’ America needs to hear the truth, and sometimes the truth hurts. But this is the home of the brave, and kudos to Tim Tebow for being brave enough to speak out about the gratitude he has for his mother who chose life for him. It’s sad that people are trying to silence his voice, just as the doctors wanted to silence him even before he was born.”
Another 21-year old female student of WCU said, “I don’t think this ad should be aired especially with Tebow’s carrer on the line and the fact that it’s during the most watched game of the year.”
A male 19-year old student gave his feedback on the issue and he replied the question by saying,”I think it absolutely should be aired…if you can air birth control and contraception pill commercials why shouldn’t you be able to advertise what you might be missing out on if you use those things….a human life, a person who can change the world. It’s only fair, and it’s only being considered controversial because so many people are complacent with accepting that abortion and birth control is okay.”
If a questionaire was taken of the entire WCU campus asking each students’ opinion on the topic, the person taking the questionaire would get a variety of answers, and replies would come from both sides of the spectrum.
As millions watch the Super Bowl and the commercials that go with it, many won’t be focused on the pro-life ad, they’ll be focused on cheering on either the Colts or the Saints and downing hot wings. Once the ad aires, the ad will either spark pro-life pro-choice debates, both on campus and on the news, or people will make the ad a thing of the past.
Kory Barnas is a third-year history major with a minor in journalism. She can be reached at KB726177@wcupa.edu.