A Christian group has been warned by the Advertising Standards Agency not to repeat a “misleading†claim about teenage pregnancy it placed in the New Statesman.
The ad claimed that the HPV vaccine causes teenage infertility.
“Now we have the disaster of teenage infertility.
“Every government initiative, including the HPV vaccine, will increase it, but as all the targets revolve around pregnancy, no-one in power knows how many young people they are making sterile and nobody cares.â€
The ASA points out that to make such claims, you really need evidence rather than, you know, MAKING SHIT UP. CV claimed that MAKING SHIT UP comes under freedom of expression. The ASA told them not to be so silly.
Me, I’d have picked up on the “every government initiative” bit. The bank bailout will increase teenage infertility! The communications database will increase teenage infertility! Etc.
What does CV’s Stephen Green have to say?
‘It is a good job the Advertising Standards Authority was not around when the Old Testament was written, or we would be missing half the Christmas story. The ASA would have wanted Isaiah to substantiate his claim that ‘a virgin shall conceive and shall bear a son’ (Isa 7:14). They would have demanded ‘robust, scientific evidence’ that virgins can conceive.
‘The Prophet’s predictions of the fall of Jerusalem and of Christ’s crucifixion would have gone the same way. As for nations beating swords into ploughshares, and the wolf dwelling with the lamb, the ASA would have banned him from ever repeating such an unsubstantiated claim.
Um, Stephen? The Bible isn’t an advert.