Tuesday 1 June 2010

Persistent pro-lifer forces newspaper to retract pro-abortion stance

I have received word of an excellent recent campaign in Ireland.

Two weeks ago the Athlone/Mullingar Advertiser published an editorial welcoming the new pro-abortion TV advertisements, prior to their showing on Channel 4. Ray McIntyre, of Midland Life Network, responded to the article and began a campaign to have the editorial removed. Ray wrote to the Galway Advertiser Group, who control the Athlone/Mullingar Advertiser. Ray asked:
I would ask you to clarify whether this editorial in your Mullingar/Athlone edition is supported by the Galway Advertiser group? I would also ask you to clarify whether the future editorial direction of the Galway Advertiser Group is to promote and support abortion and the killing of more and more innocent Irish babies in the womb by UK based commercial interests?
Ray also organised a campaign through email alerts and social networking sites encouraging people to bombard the Galway Advertiser Group with complaints. Their efforts were rewarded with this response:
The Advertiser Newspaper Group is happy to clarify that it does not take any stance on the matter of abortion and accepts that the views expressed in last week's article (editorial ) should not have been published.They do not in any way reflect the editorial or community policy of our newspapers.

Declan Varley, Group Editor, Galway Advertiser Group
The Galway Advertiser Group also agreed to publish Ray's letter of complaint in three times the space afforded to the original editorial. This letter has now been deleted from the Athlone/Mullingar Advertiser website, but can be read in full here.

It is very encouraging to see this well earned victory. It is people such as Ray and those who supported his campaign who are so crucial to keeping abortion out of Ireland.

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