This is, to me, a more egregious crime than the act of aborting. Therefore, you and Pat make many valid points in supporting the right for the advertisement to be run on television -- and in supporting the content of the ad as well. There is nothing inherently harmful in the Tim Tebow ad.

or is there? Weighing both sides, I have evaluated the controversy of the advertisement and came up with several reasons why some Americans might find it to be offensive. I won't generalize and call the opposition "the left," because I believe political beliefs are far too complex to be categorized easily. There are several issues at stake with the ad, which make the ad controversial.

First, the advertisement's greatest strength is its greatest weakness. In being subtle about its true purpose, the advertisement is sneaky. Sure, the ad is not controversial on the surface. That's why it's so effective, and why you and Pat don't believe it is a problem. I can see why some feel that the ad is a problem. Many viewers will see the ad, and not really get the connection between Tim Tebow's mom and abortion. It is not clear what the ad is about until we see the name of the sponsor. If the ad delivered a more in-your-face message about abortion, it would have been far more controversial and probably less effective. The advertisement is like an ad for a car or anything else: in this case a means to manipulate consumers into "buying" a point-of-view.

Second, the message of the advertisement is inherently flawed. That message is, "Don't have an abortion because you might miss out on this wonderful...

The whole ad is based on emotions. There is nothing wrong with that of course. Most ads have a strong emotional content that compels consumers to take action. Without emotion, no ad would be effective. However, abortion is a more important decision than what car or laundry detergent to buy. Viewers should be aware of the ways their emotions are being manipulated in this case. In truth, a woman can have an abortion and then later choose to bear children. I know that you are against the principle of abortion but many Americans are not. To me, there is nothing wrong with a woman who decides that having a child is not right for her now. This leads me to a third reason why I feel the Tim Tebow ad is controversial.
The ad is one-sided. It does not take into account the plethora of reasons why a woman might want or need an abortion. What about the woman who cannot afford to have a baby? What about the condom that broke? There are a whole host of good reasons why women choose to have abortions, and they are not wrong to do so. Just as American freedoms allow for pro-life ads to be aired during the Super Bowl, American freedoms also allow women to decide whether or not they want to be mothers. No woman wants to have an abortion, but for some women the choice is rooted in common sense. The Tim Tebow advertisement is controversial because it manipulates viewers into making an extreme decision with their lives, a decision that should never be made because of something we saw on television during the Super Bowl.

Work Cited

"Glenn Beck: Most 'controversial' Super Bowl ad." Glenn Beck.com. Feb 8, 2010. Accessed Feb 8, 2010 from http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/199/36078/