1. Yes, this ad is disrespectful to both Obama and his mother. Just because this is par for the course in politics does not make it acceptable.
2. This ad espouses the idea that the decision to have an abortion is made based on whether the child will “grow up in a broken home”, whether their father will leave, whether their mother will struggle to raise the child. The decision to have an abortion does and should rest on whether the mother wants a child or not. If not, forcing her to have one is a violation of her rights, whatever her situation might be. And yes, it is more the woman’s decision than the man’s. That foetus is inside HER body. SHE has to gestate it and give birth to it. Yes, a father’s role in parenthood is important. His role in pregnancy, far less so.
3. I would be willing to bet that the majority of pro-choicers have no problem with single parenthood, so the fact that Obama’s mother raised him without his father is not really relevant to them.
4. This ad also implies that women should not abort their foetuses because the child MIGHT grow up to be an important/valuable person. Surely most pro-lifers would argue that life is sacred whether or not the child grows up to accomplish anything?
5. Many/most pro-choicers are not FOR abortion, but believe that banning abortion drives it underground, which is far more dangerous for the women involved (I read a story recently about illegal abortions being performed in Hispanic communities because it is such a taboo in Catholic cultures. Banning/frowning on abortion does not stop it from happening, it just makes it far more dangerous).
6. The ad relies on emotive imagery and language, not on reasoned argument. This is true of most advertising, but again, does not make it okay.

Apologies if my thoughts seem a little disorganised, but, ugh.

The straw-man to vicious commentary comment is increasingly ubiquitous on the internet, but surely, a blog for intelligent social scientists need not devolve to such a level.

That aside, do you think this argument is about Obama or the semiotic Obama? It is clearly not explicitly condoning the man himself or his policies, but is instead offering up as a symbol of a “person who made it” that has entered popular conscience. Even if the *actually* odds of failure are more connected to nuts at Palin rallies rather than the personal decisions of his mother, he still represents a person who endured great personal struggle.

Likewise, there are family planning decisions which are made in the background of less than stable relationships. There’s nothing wrong with this. (Let’s clarify here, I’m pro-choice.) However, the logic of the ad has yet to be really understood here: despite the less than stable relationships, there are those who “make it”, of which we can latch onto the symbol of Obama.

Shorter Zach: “women should give up their *own* opportunities to defy the odds and forge a life for themselves ’cause maybe one of them will pop out a president who will be male and therefore actually valuable to the world…”

I’m pretty sure the *actual* odds that Obama defied were the piles of racist abuse heaped on him by Republicans and anti-choicers while he tried to slog through a racist society towards success, not the abstract possibility that he could’ve been aborted. ‘Cause hey, everyone here beat those “non-aborted” odds too! Whoopie! Guess women really *aren’t* all obsessively aborting every fetus they get near, are they? Fancy that.

Besides, the real question is this: They had 3D, real-time, in-utero video cameras ~50 years ago? Really? How did they know to use the rare technology to film the fetal Obama? (Can we get those precogs working on something useful?)

“funny, I actually didn’t see the word abortion mentioned anywhere.”

I think this went over your head, Jen. I would invite you to think about why NBC refused to run it if it’s so “simple.”

where does it make the assumption in the ad that Obama’s mom thought about having an abortion? hmmmm…..must have missed that somewhere in the 30 seconds.

If you have read any of Obama’s books, you’ll know his mom was 18 and not married when she became pregnant. sounds like somewhat of a crisis pregnancy to me. But no where in Obama’s books or this ad can I find anything about Obama’s mother contemplating an Abortion.

Also where does it say “poor women=immoral”

I just think this ad might have gone way over your head, it was just a little to simple of an idea for you and lisa.

funny, I actually didn’t see the word abortion mentioned anywhere.

first of all, this ad is talking more about Obama’s mom than Obama. she obviously did not choose to have an abortion, but it was also illegal in 1961. they’re making the assumption that she would’ve chosen to abort due to the hardships they listed.

that’s a pretty big assumption to make. we don’t know what her views on abortion were. even if it had been legal, she STILL could’ve chosen to not terminate, which would be a better argument for pro-choice than pro-life (as in making abortion legal isn’t going to suddenly inspire every woman to have one).

they seem to think that EVERY woman in hardship will choose abortion, and we all know that’s not true. that’s a pretty big slap in the face to poor women. according to them, abortion supporters=immoral. they’re basically saying poor women=immoral, and specifically here, Obama’s mom=very close to being immoral, but thank goodness it was illegal so she didn’t have to be. that’s sick.

to propose “would’ve Obama’s mom aborted Obama if it’d been legal?” is disgusting for two reasons. first, it completely disrespects his mom. they’re not just putting ALL women’s reproductive personal choices on T.V., they’re singling out ONE woman, making judgment on her, and then exploiting her and her son. god, have a little respect, people.

second, to say “hhhmmm, what would it be like if Obama had never been born because of abortion” is like saying “hhmmmm, what would it be like if MLK’s mom had been sterilized?” to talk about abortion (or sterilization) is one thing, but to apply to someone who is already LIVING (or has lived) is completely inappropriate. he’s also our PRESIDENT.

and also, it DOES matter that Obama is pro-choice. they were obviously against him during the campaign because of this specific view, yet now that he’s president and highly popular, they’re doing a complete 180 and say “golly, we’re so glad abortion so was legal when he was born, otherwise he might not be here!” not only does it make them absolute hypocrites, but we all know it’s not sincere. and I don’t want to think about what they actually wished for.

as a last point, their whole argument absolutely does not make since. they show a black man as president and say “think of the possibilities if abortion weren’t legal.” well, lots of babies grow up to be serial killers or rapists, too. which means abortion has absolutely nothing to do with what “kind” of people will grow up to become.

That’s for the woman carrying the fetus to decide, and nobody else. This ad completely erases women from the pregnancy process. It’s also extremely disingenuous because you know the people who made it are the same type to scream racial epithets at Palin rallies. Nobody who made this ad supports Obama. They’re simply using his image (and yay! He’s black!) to advocate for policies he disagrees with.
Pro-choicers could make the same exact ad featuring a dictator or serial killer. In the end, this existential nonsense doesn’t matter. If Obama had been aborted, none of us would be the wiser. Countless fertilized eggs are miscarried or flushed out of women’s bodies every day. Where’s all the existential hand-wringing over that?

The logic of the ad is actually straightforward and simple: “Even pregnancies that might appear to predict a difficult future for an unborn child us still worth preserving”.

Now, Lisa, you might disagree with that sentiment completely, but please don’t be so dishonest so as to pretend that you have no idea what the ad is trying to say.

Further, using a politicians image to make a political poin?? PERISH THE THOUGHT!!! Good thing Lisa’s friends never used pictures of Bush with a Hitler mustachio to object to the Iraq invasion… that would just be so gosh darn wrong… LOL