This was in response to the Joan Vennochi February 11, 2009 editorial: Teblow ad 1, detractors 0
Tebow 0, detractors 0: I was one of the one's who lamented the politicizing of the Superbowl by the Tebow commercial. I felt it was a game for god's sake, it's supposed to be fun and why CBS wanted to inflame the pro choice and anti-abortion sides, like we do not have enough polarization to last us through eternity if we make it that far, I will never know!
However, I did what I vowed I would not I gave it a chance and viewed it. I viewed the entire Superbowl as well which was a wonderful experience. I deemed ALL the ads no big deal. The Tebow ad was minimalist and I gave CBS kudos in the end. Yes it celebrated life which both sides do even us pro choice advocates like the idea of life and exalt the mature woman's life who is most impacted by a pregnancy. The claim of sexist by NOW and other feminist venues, in my opinion, is ridiculous. It is as tired as the anti-choice mantra. I watched the ad with Betty White and Abe Vigoda which I thought was hilarious. I laughed for many minutes after it. Some ads were good and some were not so good, some funny and some not. Humor is in the eyes and ears of the beholder and listener. In the end it falls into the who cares category anyway.
I disagree with Vennochi only in her end paragraph where she states: " No supporter of Roe v. Wade can escape the truth. With one choice you could end up with a strapping son; with another choice you don't." I would amend that a bit and say no supporter of Roe v. Wade can escape the truth. With one choice you could end up with a strapping son, with another choice you could end up with a genetically deformed or intellectually compromised child for the rest of its and your life; with yet another choice you don't"!
The mistake the so called "Focus on the Family" makes is that they do not tell you each incident of pregnancy is different and some pregnant women are caught in a web of dangers which could result in a horrifically compromised fetus incurring huge costs -- often NOT picked up by insurance companies -- for life and even could result in the death of the mother. Safe, legal abortions avoid any of those sometimes tragic consequences of pregnancy and no one but the mother has to endure those consequences. It is just not that simple.
