NSW Lib transport minister Andrew Constance "appalled" by this billboard
Wednesday, 24 July 2019
How could you be upset by the beauty of a new life?
I've marvelled at 5 different little sets of ultrasounds.
What's wrong with talking about beautiful little heartbeats?
Transport Minister Andrew Constance said he was “appalled” by the ad, which shows an image of a pregnant woman’s stomach, alongside the phrase: “A heart beats at four weeks”.
The minister ordered the ads be removed from Newcastle buses after a complaint was made to him on social media.
“I’m looking into how this was allowed to happen,” Mr Constance wrote on Facebook at the time.
Supplied The same ad was removed from the side of buses in Newcastle last month.
An online petition has been started calling on the roadside billboard in Lake Macquarie to be taken down.
Sahynie Croese, who started the petition, said she was stunned to see the anti-abortion ad being displayed in such a prominent location in her hometown.
Ms Croese told nine.com.au she was driving home from her grandmother’s house when she spotted the billboard.
“It shocked me because I thought that we had this argument already with Newcastle buses and NSW transport with the same ad, so I was a little bit stunned as to why I was seeing the exact same ad,” she said.
“A lot of people are outraged that in 2019 we still have organisations that are allowed to have a billboard that is basically just telling women what to do with their bodies.”
“We are a secular state now and have been for a long time. Fair enough these organisations have a belief, but that highway is a public domain.”
Emily’s Choice is yet to respond to nine.com.au’s requests for comment.
However, in a blog post on the group’s website, CEO Paul O’Rourke defended the ads.
“Apparently it’s impolite to encourage women to continue an unexpected pregnancy by informing them their babies have a tiny heartbeat,” Mr O’Rourke said.
“We are seeking to restart and reshape the life conversation in a sensible, sensitive way free of guilt and condemnation so women make an informed choice. We are pro-women and for-children.
“There are government campaigns to reduce smoking, the road toll, cancer and heart disease. Surely there’s a place to reduce abortion which claims more Aussie lives each year than any other cause?”
Josephine Gatt owns the property where the billboard is placed. Ms Gatt said she had not been aware of the content of the ad before being approached by nine.com.au.
“That billboard has been there for a long time, many years,” she said.
“The billboard company approached my husband to put the billboard up. I have nothing to do with what is put up there.”
Nine.com.au has contacted the billboard company, oOh!media, for comment.
Last year, the Australian Communications and Media Authority censured Emily's Voice for a similar TV ad, saying it did not clearly identify its political nature.
Contact reporter Emily McPherson at [email protected].