Abortion ads to be shown on TV

By politics.co.uk staff

Abortion advice could be advertised on television and radio for the first time, under new proposals.

From today the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will begin a three-month consultation into whether abortion clinics should be allowed to see their adverts broadcast during prime-time evening slots.

Under the proposals, which aim to reduce the teenage pregnancy rate and levels of sexual infections in the UK, restrictions on condom adverts could also be relaxed allowing them to be shown before the watershed.

The Broadcast Committee on Advertising Practice (BCAP), which is part of the consultation, claims the Advisory Group on Sexual Health has called for a relaxation of the rules, highlighting figures which show over 11,000 under-16s were diagnosed with either chlamydia, herpes, gonorrhoea, syphilis or genital warts between 2002 and 2006.

VoiceOver

MRSA Action UK: Clean Your Hands!

The proposals would also see pregnancy advice services, including information on abortions, to be shown on UK TV for the first time.

The proposals from BCAP state: "Because it considers that women who are or might be pregnant and are considering abortion merit specific protection under the BCAP Code, BCAP proposes to include a rule on advertisements for post-conception pregnancy advice services.

"BCAP considers that rule should fulfil two policy objectives - to allow post-conception pregnancy advice services the freedom to advertise and to ensure that advertisements for those services make clear whether the service refers women for abortion."

The consultation is expected to close on June 19th, with the new rulings potentially coming into effect in 2010.

Political news to your inbox

Fill in your details to receive Politics.co.uk's brand of informed, in-depth and independent coverage of Westminster to your inbox

Hot topics

Britain's great energy debate

How the power gets to Britain's homes in the next century remains a matter of deep controversy

As the next general election begins to loom over the horizon, the debate over Britain's future energy mix is starting to hot up - and nothing seems guaranteed.

The Heathrow third runway debate

Heathrow's third runway is just one of many options

There won't be a final decision on Britain's long-term aviation strategy until after the 2015 general election - but an aggressive national debate is already underway.

Opinion Former Events

BSIA: Information Destruction Exhibition & Conference 2013

Following the great success of the BSIA's Information Destruction Conference and Exhibition in May 2012, we are pleased to annouce that the event is returning again in June 2013. This one-day conference and exhibition is aimed at key decision makers in organisations that carry out the secure destruction of confidential material.