{"id":201071,"date":"2019-04-29T06:40:54","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T11:40:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.liveaction.org\/news\/?p=201071"},"modified":"2019-04-26T23:15:31","modified_gmt":"2019-04-27T04:15:31","slug":"canadian-city-councillors-enraged-pregnant-bus-ad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.liveaction.org\/news\/canadian-city-councillors-enraged-pregnant-bus-ad\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian city councillors enraged over ‘Pregnant? Need Help?’ bus ad"},"content":{"rendered":"
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In Ottawa, Canada, two city councillors —\u00a0Catherine McKenney and Jeff Leiper — have had a seemingly over-the-top reaction to a pro-life ad posted on a bus, which simply reads, “1969-2019: More than 4 million abortions in Canada. Pregnant? Need Help? Call 1-800-665-0570.” The ad contains a logo from LifeAction.org, with a heart containing baby footprints featured as part of the ad.<\/p>\n

The two councillors, reports the Ottawa Citizen<\/a>, have called the ad a tactic to “reverse decades of pro-choice gains.” The ad, the Citizen reports, is viewed by the councillors as “purposely misleading and affecting women’s health” because the phone number and offer of help implies that women will be directed to counseling if they call. “And what the number leads you to are advocacy groups that are anti-choice and very much misleading and have no place on our public transit system,\u201d Catherine McKenney said. The two councillors — unsurprisingly, given their unwarranted outrage over the ad — has asked the city to remove the ad from the buses. “The fact that they are displayed on public property is galling,” they said.<\/p>\n

But given the fact that the bus ad features a heart with baby footprints, it is difficult to ascertain why the councillors feel women will be misled… until you realize that they believe offering options other than abortion is an unacceptable and “misleading” practice in and of itself. The councillors wrote in a statement, \u201cCharter rights to free speech are important, but it\u2019s never acceptable to interfere with the constitutionally protected right to access health care” and implied that those who believe otherwise are using “lazy reasoning.” The Citizen reports:<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we put something out on public property to counsel women on their health no matter what that is, it has to be something that we can stand behind as a city,\u201d [McKenney] said. This is especially important when the targeted audience is vulnerable, she said.<\/em><\/p>\n

The number on the ad is for a pregnancy resource center in Winnipeg, an openly pro-life center which assists women experiencing unplanned pregnancies who are looking for life-affirming options. The director of Action Life, Louise Harbor, was completely puzzled as to the councillors objections to the ad. “We have not presented ourselves as a counselling service or as a pregnancy support service which is why we don\u2019t use our own telephone number,\u201d she told the Ottawa Citizen. \u201cWe direct women to where they can find help at this national help line number. And we\u2019ve used that number for many, many years.\u201d<\/p>\n