An anti-abortion advertisement that pictures the ultrasound of an unborn Jesus with a halo has generated heated controversy in the United Kingdom.
ChurchAds.Net’s “Baby-Scan Jesus” poster has been planned for use during its 2010 Christmas campaign, but debate has been raised months before the holiday season. The posters creators are insistent that it has been designed to stimulate conversation about the meaning of Christmas, but the poster’s critics say that it is far too political and see it as a counterattack on the first ever TV ad for abortion services (recently aired in the U.K.).
“It gives the impression that it was politically motivated, that they are trying to put across some sort of subliminal message,” said Terry Sanderson, director of the National Secular Society. “The image is too specifically associated with pro-lifers to be seen in a benign context.”
Sanderson further stated, “They should go back to angels and cribs.”
The Churchads.net poster message reads: “He’s on His Way: Christmas starts with Christ.” The group explained that idea for the poster came from the 21st-century convention that proud parents-to-be show the ultrasound of their baby to family and friends.
“Our new Baby-scan Jesus poster uses this convention to place the birth of Christ in an ultra-contemporary context,” the group explained. “It is highly impactful. It has a sense of immediacy. It creates anticipation. And theologically it speaks of both the humanity and divinity of Jesus Christ.”
ChurchAds.net said it is releasing its poster early to allow supporters to help reserve bus shelter and billboard ads and radio commercial spots before they are sold out. The group noted that by October most spots have already been sold out.
The ecumenical network aims to use the poster to reach 40 million people by displaying it on 2010 bus shelter sites and conveying the message through radio commercials aired on 200 stations.
The “Baby-scan Jesus” poster, scheduled to run from Dec. 6 to 20, is backed by the Church of England, Baptist Union, Methodist and United Reformed churches.
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