Ad Standards upholds ruling against anti-abortion ads on City buses, benches
ADS CONTAINED ‘UNACCEPTABLE DEPICTIONS AND PORTRAYALS’
Advertising Standards Canada (Ad Standards) has ruled that advertisements in Lethbridge earlier this year — a series of controversial anti-abortion advertisements on City buses, bus shelters and benches — contained “unacceptable depictions and portrayals.”
One of the key figures in the ad opposition, Miranda Hlady, confirmed the news in an email to media Wednesday afternoon, which contained the full statement from Ad Standards.
“Advertising Standards Canada (Ad Standards) received your complaint alleging that the above referenced advertisement contravened the Canadian Code of Advertising Standards (Code),” it reads.
“The Standards Council (Council) met on May 24, 2018, to consider this complaint. Council includes representatives from advertisers, advertising agencies, the media and the public, all of whom volunteer their time to participate in this complaint review process. Council reviewed the complaint and the advertisement under Clause 1 (Accuracy and Clarity) and Clause 14 (Unacceptable Depictions and Portrayals) of the Code.
“Dominating the advertisement was the image of a well-developed and mature-looking foetus. To the members of Council, this image clearly appeared to be more representative of a foetus not in its early stages of development but at a later stage of gestation when abortions are, typically, not performed or permitted. The words accompanying the images of the foetus were “Preborn Babies Feel Pain. Say No to Abortion.” One of the principle impressions conveyed to Council by the combination of the words and images in this advertisement was that this image is representative of foetuses when they are aborted (an inaccurate and misleading representation, contrary to Clause 1 (a) of the Code; and that all foetuses at all stages of gestation will feel pain if the pregnancy is aborted.”
On April 4, the City of Lethbridge announced it would be pulling the series of controversial advertisements from city buses, bus shelters and benches after receiving heated feedback from various community members.
“After reviewing comments from city residents,” read the statement announcing the decision, “the City of Lethbridge has made an administrative decision to remove the advertisements due to adverse community reaction. The advertising contractor has been notified of this decision and has confirmed that the ads will be removed from buses by Thursday morning, April 5, as well as from bus benches and shelters by this weekend.”
Mayor Chris Spearman said at that time the City was reviewing its ad policy in the face of opposition.
“We acknowledge that advertising on public spaces must meet community norms, and that sometimes there can be a range of values and views,” the City’s April statement read. “The best interests of our community are always paramount, and we will continue to exert discretion in the use of all public advertising spaces.”