The Chicago Tribune, USA Today, and the L.A. Times have refused to run an anti-abortion ad that depicts a 20-week-old baby held in a person’s palm, accompanied by the words, “This child has no voice, which is why it depends on yours.”
The pro-life group Heroic Media intended to use the ad to encourage the U.S. Senate to pass the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act, approved by the House last month, but it was rejected by the three major newspapers as “too controversial.”
“It seems as though it is okay to talk about the issue in general, but when you actually put a face to the discussion, then it becomes controversial,” says Heroic Media Executive Director Joe Young.
The Chicago Tribune has agreed to run a different image — a 20-week baby in utero — but demanded that it be made clear that the image is an advertisement for legislation. Here is that image:
The Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act would prohibit abortions nationwide after 20 weeks, the developmental point at which babies in the womb can experience pain. The bill, which has met with considerable controversy, passed the House 228–196, and will likely never see a vote in the Democrat-controlled Senate.