'Dear Future Mom' ad banned because it could 'disturb' women who had abortions
An advertisement meant to support World Down Syndrome Day will remain banned from French televisions after a French court ruled earlier this month that the ad could “disturb the conscience of women who, in accordance with the law, have made personal life choices.”
The “Dear Future Mom” video, answers a mother’s question after discovering her unborn baby has Down syndrome: "What kind of life will my child have?"
The answer, told by 15 different children and adults with the diagnosis, promises the eponymous “Dear Future Mom” that her child will be "like everybody," able to go to school and show love and live an independent life.
"Your child can be happy, just like I am," several say in clips edited together. "And you’ll be happy too."
But the country’s Conseil d’État, or Council of State, objected to putting the advertisement on air, citing the potential upset it could cause mothers who had undergone abortions and the possibility the ad could be construed as a pro-life public service announcement.
The French Broadcasting Council had originally ruled the commercial should stay off televisions, according to CNS News, and one of the sponsors for the original video, the Jerome Lejeune Foundation, had appealed the original decision.
The Jerome Lejeune Foundation, which focuses on research for Down syndrome and other conditions, criticized the decision to uphold the ban after it was handed down.
The decision treated abortion and protecting life "as if the two acts had the same value," foundation president Jean-Marie Le Mene said in a statement. "Experience shows that women who have given birth to a child with a disability do not regret having chosen life."
Down syndrome, which occurs when babies are born with an extra copy of chromosome 21, can cause developmental delays and some intellectual disability. Though statistics are not kept, some researchers estimate more than 90 percent of mothers who discover their fetuses have Down syndrome choose to end their pregnancies, according to ABC News.
This story was originally published November 25, 2016 at 2:18 PM with the headline "'Dear Future Mom' ad banned because it could 'disturb' women who had abortions."