Pro-adoption Super Bowl ad sparks controversy

During Super Bowl LX, millions of Americans will see a powerful pro-adoption ad aimed at reminding the nation that adoption is a real and compassionate option when a woman faces an unplanned pregnancy.

Key Takeaways:

• A new adoption ad will premiere during Super Bowl LX.

• The ad, which features a woman facing an unplanned pregnancy and the choice to parent her child or abort her child, informs women of another option: adoption.

• The pro-adoption ad received both support and pushback when it appeared online ahead of the Super Bowl.

The Details:

The video, created by the organization Adoption is, is titled "The Girl in the Middle," and seeks to end the stigma, fear, judgment, and lack of information that stands in the way of women who might choose adoption rather than parenting or abortion. It highlights the perspective of a young woman who is just learning she is pregnant, showing that the option of adoption is too often forgotten when people are trying to help women who face unexpected pregnancies.

With the choices to either parent a child or place a child in an adoptive home, abortion is unnecessary. Women deserve better than being told their only option is to end their child’s life when they are unable to parent. Adoption is a way in which both mother and child can be supported.

According to the organization's website, "Adoption Is An Option was founded by someone who knows adoption personally — a child adopted in 1955 who wanted to give back and make a difference. From the very beginning, our mission has been simple: to learn, tell, and share the truth about adoption. We believe adoption is not giving up. It's giving a future. It's a courageous act of love that deserves to be visible, viable, and valued in our culture."

It notes, "Too often, [women] hear only two narratives — parenting or abortion — without clear, compassionate information about adoption. We exist to change that."

Adoption Is An Option equips women and those close to them with the resources and tools to learn about adoption, which it believes to be misunderstood.

Commentary:

While there have been positive reactions to the ad, there have also been critical responses.

One woman shared, "Adoption is the reason I have my incredible husband — and now our amazing five kids as well."

Another commented:

"Wow! Amazing!!! This brought me to tears! I was 21 and a senior in college. I found out I was pregnant that fall. My boyfriend had abandoned me. I choose life. And I choose adoption! My son is 30 now and has lived an amazing life! We see each other once a year. He’s going to be a dad soon. He recently texted me and thanked me for my selfless decision! It was the hardest decision I’ve ever had to make my entire life! A part of my heart and soul died when I gave him away. But I could continue on knowing that my son was alive and well and living a good life. There was never any guilt! I love this commercial!"

Another adoptee said, "As an adopted child myself, my birth mother chose life and I'm forever grateful for that!"

And still another said, "I'm adopted. My life mattered."

However, critics of adoption blasted the ad.

Gretchen Sisson, who "studies abortion and adoption at Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH)," a pro-abortion research group, said, "Most Super Bowl Sundays include anti-abortion advertising in some way, but this year it's brought to you by pro-relinquishment organizations who want you to believe they're offering something different. They aren't."

Her Instagram take-down of the ad solicited comments, including, "You think any of us would place a child in the system after seeing the epstein [sic] files? Please. Better they were never born than have to live through that."

Another claimed, "Abortion care is a good thing. This is sick."

Hey Jane Health, an online abortion pill sales organization, commented, "Thank you for cutting through the noise with facts. These ads intentionally disregard why people actually seek abortion in the first place. Abortion is health care, not an 'alternative' to adoption."

Author's Note: These false claims about adoption will be addressed in upcoming Live Action News articles.

The Bottom Line:

Every person who has a history with adoption will have a different experience and story to share — some negative and some positive. Therefore, they will each have a different point of view. However, women watching the Super Bowl who may have just learned they are pregnant can benefit from learning the truth about adoption, which Adoption is offers.

Every woman deserves to be informed of the fact that creating a private adoption plan before their child is born means that child will not go into foster care. She can also choose open adoption, in which she will be able to remain a part of her child's life in some way.