The Born Ultimatum

Tony Perkins
Family Research Council

Mayor Bloomberg must be bored of banning big gulps and transfats, because the New York City Dictator seems to be moving on to bigger things: like babies. A new series of NYC ads is catching plenty of flak for implying that some children would be better off never being born! The campaign, which is meant to target teen mothers, features photos of crying babies saying things like, "I'm twice as likely not to graduate high school because you had me as a teen," or "Honestly, mom... Chances are he won't stay with you. What happens to me?" Although the PSAs don't come right out and say teen parents should abort their children, that's certainly the insinuation.

According to the city, the ads were created by the NYC Human Resource Administration and will be prominently featured on the local subways and bus stops. "This campaign makes very clear to young people that there's a lot at stake when it comes to deciding to raise a child," said Mayor Bloomberg. "We'll let thousands of young New Yorkers know that waiting to becoming a parent could be the best decision they ever make." Unfortunately for children, "waiting to become a parent" in New York City is usually accomplished through abortion--not abstinence. According to the local health department, 41% of the city's pregnancies end in abortion. That's double the national average. And the numbers for black children are even more startling: only four out of every 10 black children make it out the womb alive.

Also raising eyebrows are some of the campaign's loudest critics. Planned Parenthood, which profits greatly from the city's negative messaging on parenting, said the ads, "create stigma, hostility and negative public opinions about teen pregnancy and parenthood rather than offering alternative aspirations for young people." Of course, anyone familiar with Planned Parenthood understands how utterly disingenuous their statement is. This is an organization that has willingly enabled sex traffickers, accepted racist donations, lobbied for secret abortions for minors, covered up statutory rape, and concealed child sexual abuse--all to make a buck, not to "offer alternative aspirations for young people."

If Planned Parenthood does oppose the ads, it's because they get in the way of the organization's messaging. They want Americans to think of abortion as a routine medical procedure, not a deadly act that takes an innocent life. In the end, these ads show just how much Planned Parenthood and Mayor Bloomberg have in common: they both see children as a burden--not the blessing God intended them to be.