I don't think it's proper practice for a school district to be engaged in political advertising of any sort, regardless of the issue. And certainly not in an election year.

Someone should have known better than to run such a biased advertisement, especially if there were no plans to show both sides of the issue.

True dat, Publius!

I don't really see what the point of whining about this is. First off, it's not a student directory, but clearly a parent directory. Second, they're ads, not articles or features in any regard. Political ads are just another type of advertisement. Why are you picking on this one in particular and not the ads for First United Methodist Church, Catholic Family Services, Lutheran Social Services, or the Air National Guard? Those all relate to political issues as well. Quite simply, the Alpha Center has the same right to advertise as any other organization.

Anonymous:
A) This is not just a directory for parents. Don't kid yourself. A good 20,000 students will glance through this directory.

B) Sure the "Alpha Center had the same right to advertise as any other organization." However, the point is that the Sioux Falls School District had the discretion to choose whether or not to accept this full-page ad that clearly is more than just about the services the Alpha Center provides, but instead takes an ideological approach that "abortion hurts women." If the SF School District had called up Planned Parenthood and given them an opportunity to put an ad in the directory, that would've been fine by me. But instead, they let this ad go in when there also just *happens* to be an abortion ban on the ballot this fall.

Ads about churches or the National Guard do not even compare to this ad, so that's a ridiculous assertion. The ad for the Alpha Center presents information to young girls in a way that appears factual, but in reality is only a very biased opinion.

The public school system should have been smart enough to know not to infringe upon families' rights to teach their children about these sensitive issues instead of having one viewpoint pushed upon them as if it is fact.

"A good 20,000 students will glance through this directory."

Give me a break! I have 4 kids in the public schools, the oldest being a senior. None of my kids have ever once looked at this directory, and I get at least one/year, this year 3 came home. Look at it. It is clearly directed at parents, not kids.

"A) This is not just a directory for parents. Don't kid yourself. A good 20,000 students will glance through this directory."

As the above poster (a different Anon) pointed, out, look at the directory. The material and ads in it are clearly more pertinent to parents, unless kids are suddenly choosing their own hospitals, dentists, and cars. Even if a student did look at it, it would only be useful to a high school student, and they should be old enough to have their own opinions and not be offended by an advertisement.

"B) Sure the "Alpha Center had the same right to advertise as any other organization." However, the point is that the Sioux Falls School District had the discretion to choose whether or not to accept this full-page ad that clearly is more than just about the services the Alpha Center provides, but instead takes an ideological approach that "abortion hurts women.""

How is any other ad in the packet different? Ads for churches clearly would imply they are better than alternative faiths, while ads for the Guard champion military service, which some would oppose.

"If the SF School District had called up Planned Parenthood and given them an opportunity to put an ad in the directory, that would've been fine by me."

Since when were advertisers supposed to give equal space or time to competing products or ideologies. Alpha Center payed for an ad, and evidently PP did not. That is all there is to it. The District covered itself with the disclaimer.

"But instead, they let this ad go in when there also just *happens* to be an abortion ban on the ballot this fall."

It's not like the abortion issue goes away when a bill isn't on the ballot. The Alpha Center existed before this year, after all. You're starting to sound like a conspiracy theorist, since you seem to be implying that the District somehow went out of its way to put a subversive anti-abortion message in a school directory.

"Ads about churches or the National Guard do not even compare to this ad, so that's a ridiculous assertion."

See above.

"The ad for the Alpha Center presents information to young girls in a way that appears factual, but in reality is only a very biased opinion."

And how is any other ad different? Avera saying it's a good hospital is a biased opinion, after all, since the claim is coming from Avera. The same goes for pretty much every ad in existence.

"The public school system should have been smart enough to know not to infringe upon families' rights to teach their children about these sensitive issues instead of having one viewpoint pushed upon them as if it is fact."

This is hardly infringing on anybody's rights. If the District brought in an anti-abortion speaker and forced students to listen to him or her, you may have a point. But your claim is simply ridiculous. You may as well say that television campaign ads infringe on people's rights.

If it's geared to adults, where's the ads for Scarlet O'Hara's (are they still around?) or Annabelle's?

The point is the publication is from Sioux Falls schools, a supposedly secular, apolitical government entity. Accepting advertising from either side of this issue would be and is inappropriate.

"The point is the publication is from Sioux Falls schools, a supposedly secular, apolitical government entity. Accepting advertising from either side of this issue would be and is inappropriate."

So are you opposed to advertisements at Howard Wood or the Arena? Contrary to what some people may think, pretty much every ad has some form of political undertone, whether people perceive it or not.

The real point is that the Alpha Center paid for an ad and that it carried a disclaimer showing it was not the district's opinion. Stop complaining over a nonissue.

"Heads should roll on this." - They do. Every time an abortion is performed.

Many thanks for making a big issue out of a non-issue. I've placed my calls to the Shopping News and the SFPS, thanking them for caring about women and offering help, something Planned Parenthood and Campaign for UNhealthy families finds offensive.

Anonymous: I'm not even going to waste my time responding to your point-by-point refutes on my post until you quit acting like a coward and actually identify yourself.

I wonder if PP actually tried to run an add in the Student Directory, or if people are just tossing around a lot of speculation.

so, let me get this straight. are you saying that the worst case scenario of an ad like this - which would be a young girl NOT having an abortion - would be a BAD thing?

hmmmmm.

By the way, the title of this blog calls the ad "Anti-Choice." How exactly is the ad anti-choice? It is offering ANOTHER CHOICE besides abortion. Please help me out, here....how is that anti-choice?

What is everyone so afraid of??? The Alpha Center is only trying to reach women that are suffering from a past abortion. This is not a political statement but a ad with information in it. If the campaign for Healthy Families or Planned Parenthood really cared about the women they serve they would welcome any services that help women in a positive way.

Simon:
I cannot tell if you're being a smartass or not, so I'm going to enlighten you. The ad is anti-choice because it clearly opposes giving the woman a choice to make her own decision about her body and instead tells her that there is only one right decision (the other one would clearly "hurt" her).

The school is sending the directory home with the kids. I'd say it's an endorsement.

So if a woman drowns one of her kids in the bathtub does she have a choice what happens to her body?

A person that murders a pregnant woman is generally charged with two homicides. Does that person have a choice about what happens to their body?

What about the people on the receiving end of the killing? Do they have a choice?

No difference with abortion... The mother and the doctor are dating away that child's choice of what then can or cannot do with their body.

Anonymous:

It is clear you have been swimming in Planned Parenthood vernacular for some time, and need to come up for the objective air of reality. When one is in favor of an abortion ban (as I am), he or she is truly anti-choice. He or she is in favor of having the government declare the procedure illegal, leaving no choice available but to allow the fetus to see light of day.

DIRECTLY, this ad is about helping women recover - psychologically and spiritually - after undergoing an enormously significant procedure. INDIRECTLY, this ad is about trying to persuade people into choosing one outcome over another. It doesn't matter what the arguments are; IT IS ABOUT *CHOOSING* LIFE INSTEAD OF TERMINATION. Again, where is the 'anti-choice' facet of the ad? Where in the ad does it ask to ban abortion?

I will gladly accept your apology.

The ad that Alpha Center ran was to truly reach women who are hurting from an abortion. I was one of those women and I applaud the efforts of the Alpha Center. Why doesn't PP or Unhealthy Families run an ad to offer help? Oh, that's right, they don't offer help after an abortion! They say that abortion is a "good" choice. If it is so good and healthy why are women seeking help and counseling?

THANK YOU ALPHA CENTER FOR CARING!