JOHN SMEATON, DIRECTOR OF SPUC: Marie Stopes TV ad is deceptive and deceitful

Monday 24 May 2010

Marie Stopes TV ad is deceptive and deceitful

The television advertisement by Marie Stopes International (see below), released this morning via The Guardian newspaper’s website, is deceptive and deceitful.

The advertisement says:

“If you miss your period, you could be pregnant. If you’re pregnant and don’t know what to do, Marie Stopes International can help.”

Anthony Ozimic, SPUC’s communications manager, told the media earlier today:

“The advertisement is deceptive, in that it doesn’t explain what Marie Stopes is and what Marie Stopes does. Marie Stopes' main business is the killing of unborn children. Its telephone consultation line is an abortion booking service which puts women on a fast-track to abortion. 90% of the so-called services Marie Stopes provides in England and Wales are abortions. In 2008 they performed almost 600,000 abortions overseas. Most of its £100 million annual income comes from abortion and is spent on abortion, including campaigning for a right to abortion. (Marie Stopes International’s Charity Commission return 2008)

“Marie Stopes advertises itself as an abortion provider on the London Underground but has soft-soaped its image in this Channel 4 advertisement. We can only conclude that this is a way for Marie Stopes to evade restrictions on advertising. We have written to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, urging him to use his powers and instruct Ofcom to block this advertisement. Women deserve better than abortion. We want the government to ensure that women are not misled by this kind of deceitful propaganda.”

Please act immediately to help stop the ad, by:

contacting Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP, the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. The Secretary of State has the power to stop the ad through his powers relating to Ofcom - please urge him to use that power. The department's email address is enquiries@culture.gov.uk (alternatively enquiries@culture.gsi.gov.uk ) and the department's telephone number is (020) 7211 6000.
contact your MP, asking him/her to urge the Secretary of State to stop the ad. You can email your MP via http://www.spuc.org.uk/mps You can also telephone your MP via the parliamentary switchboard on (020) 7219 3000.

See my previous blog about this for more information.

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About Me

I became involved in SPUC after graduating, when I established a branch in south London in 1974. I have worked full-time for SPUC for 42 years. I became chief executive of SPUC in the UK in 1996, having been general secretary since 1978. I was elected vice-president of International Right to Life Federation in 2005. At UN conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing, Istanbul and Rome, I helped coordinate more than 150 pro-life/pro-family groups resulting in pro-life victories in Cairo, Istanbul and Rome. I was educated at Salesian College, London, before going to Oxford where I graduated in English Language and Literature. I qualified as a teacher, becoming head of English at a secondary school. I am married to Josephine. We have a grown-up family and we live in north London.