Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
Post Conception Advice Services (PCAS) offer a range of services to women, including advice on health and well-being, contraception and the provision of ultrasound services, as well as advice about women’s choice to continue with their pregnancy or to have a termination.
The Health and Social Care Act 2008 requires PCAS providers that provide certain family planning services, other than counseling or advice, to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The Secretary of State for Health then maintains a list of approved Pregnancy Advice Bureaux (PAB). Other than hospitals and GP’s, only PAB’s registered in this way can refer women for termination. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists advises that the earlier in pregnancy a termination is performed the lower the risk of complications to the woman. Also the Report of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee on the Scientific Developments Relating to the Abortion Act 1967 recommended: ‘to ensure that no patients are misled, we … recommend that the Government consider ways of ensuring that all those claiming to offer pregnancy counseling services … indicate clearly in their advertising that they do not support referral for abortion.’
In 2012, the CAP Code was amended to state “Marketing communications for services offering advice on unplanned pregnancy must make clear if the service does not refer women directly for a termination. Given that terminations are lawful only in some circumstances, and are subject to particularly stringent requirements in Northern Ireland, marketers may wish to seek legal advice” (Rule 12.24). This would mean that PCAS that could not directly refer women for a termination are required to make that fact clear in their ads. That Rule comes into effect in April.
Pro-choice clinics need not explicitly state in their advertisements the pro-choice nature of their service or advice but nothing, including the context in which the ad appears, should mislead the consumer about the nature of the services on offer. In 2001, the ASA received a complaint about the use of the word “choice” in a Marie Stopes ad. The complainant believed “choice” was misleading because the advertiser offered only abortion advice. The ASA considered that the ad, which claimed “Abortion Help and Advice … when you’ve made your choice you can trust us …” was unlikely to mislead in the way suggested. But in 2011, the ASA upheld a complaint about an ad that appeared under the search listing for “Abortion Clinics”. The ad stated “Considering Abortion? Free Pregnancy Testing Information & Advisory Service Quick & Confidential Morning After?” The complainant objected, and the ASA agreed, that the ad misleadingly implied that the advertiser would offer impartial advice on abortions (Albany Women’s Centre, 6 July 2011).
Obviously, untargeted ads can cause offence simply because of the product on offer. In 2004, the ASA rejected a complaint about a poster that appeared on London buses and claimed “Unwanted Pregnancy? Sympathetic, straightforward advice on terminating an unwanted pregnancy …”. The complainant believed the ad was unsuitable for display where it could be seen by children and was likely to offend and distress women who had recently had an abortion. The ASA disagreed.
Finally, ads have in the past attracted criticism that they are irresponsible because they promote abortion to vulnerable young women. As long as marketers use factual, unemotive language and do not suggest abortion (or the morning-after pill) should be used instead of more suitable and responsible precautions, ads are unlikely to breach the Code.
See 'Contraceptives'.
Last modified : 29 March 2012