Physicians Urge CBS to Blow the Whistle on Anti-Abortion Super Bowl Ad

“An ad that celebrates Pam Tebow as a role model for other pregnant women is an ad that tells the many families who made different decisions that they were wrong to do so.”

New York, NY—CBS has announced that it will air a commercial from Focus on the Family during the Super Bowl. The ad will feature football player Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam Tebow, and is expected to focus on an anti-abortion message. In past interviews, Pam Tebow has said that she became ill while pregnant with Tim, and was urged by her doctors to have an abortion.

Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health has joined a coalition urging CBS to drop this ad from the Super Bowl lineup. Board chair Suzanne T. Poppema, MD, released the following statement today:

“As a physician, I worry that the Tebows’ ad will encourage women with complicated pregnancies to ignore expert medical advice. Pam Tebow’s personal experience applies to her and her alone. No matter how compelling her story, it shouldn’t be held up as the only moral choice to the millions of families watching the Super Bowl.

“I’ve cared for many women throughout their pregnancies. Most, thankfully, had healthy pregnancies and gave birth to healthy children. Some did not. I know how wrenching it is for a family to end a wanted pregnancy. Every woman and every pregnancy are different. An ad that celebrates Pam Tebow as a role model for other pregnant women is an ad that tells the many families who made different decisions that they were wrong to do so.

“I wouldn’t dream of telling the Colts or the Saints how to win the Super Bowl—that’s not my area of expertise. I urge CBS to leave medical advice to the experts and drop this dangerous, one-sided ad.”

Physicians are available for comment. Contact Amanda Davis at amanda@prch.org, 646 649-9927.