Anti-abortion ads showing graphic images of aborted fetuses covered in blood and surrounded by religious icons will air during the Super Bowl in February, courtesy of Democratic Presidential candidate Randall Terry. Terry, who has spent a year in jail and been arrested 50 times for his anti-abortion efforts, is using a Federal Election Commission loophole that ensures ads for political candidates cannot be prohibited within 45 days of an election. Apparently, primaries count, so Terry will be running ads on local stations during Super Bowl XLVI February 5.
If you were hoping to be able to enjoy Super Bowl Sunday free of politics and moral controversy…well, Randall Terry may be set to pee in your sandbox. Thanks to the FEC, if you live in a state with a Presidential primary, you may be treated to graphic anti-abortion television ads. Because football and grisly photos of aborted fetuses are as American as apple pie, personhood amendments, and voter suppression, right?
I understand that zealots like Terry will spare no expense, ford any stream, and climb any mountain to force their message in front of Americans. I get that they’re convinced that their narrow religiosity and hatred of women give their beliefs primacy over those of the unenlightened, heathen, ungodly majority of Americans who believe in a woman’s right to control her own body. Randall Terry and his fellow anti-choice zealots believe that women are sperm receptacles, baby incubators, and rightfully the unquestioned property of men. I vehemently disagree with their narrow views, and I abhor virtually everything they stand for. Nonetheless, this is a free country, and they’re free to spread their zealotry and hatred of women…but would it be too much to have one day when Americans can just enjoy life without someone’s pet issue being forced upon them? I know that for some, opposition to safe, legal reproductive health care is a 24/7/365 crusade…but could we give it a rest for one day before you resume trying to force your narrow, hate-fueled agenda down our throats?
