Offender: Law & Order episode "Dignity"

Media Outlet: Aired 10/23/09 on NBC

Offense: Law & Order presented a physician who performs abortions as a murderer and advanced anti-reproductive rights propaganda.

NOW's Analysis: Law & Order loves to do "ripped from the headlines" stories, and this episode was clearly based on the recent assassination of Dr. George Tiller. The show outrageously implied that physicians like Dr. Tiller may be culpable in their own murders because they themselves are baby killers. The episode might have been titled "Dignity," but it did little to acknowledge the dignity of women and the service providers who risk their lives to provide safe and legal abortions.

The episode was loaded with anti-abortion sentiment and propaganda. Several of the supposedly pro-choice characters on the show were guilted into questioning their values. The plotline that included the doctor killing a baby after birth was purposely inflammatory -- an assault on Dr. Tiller's memory and quite possibly a provocation to zealots who need little encouragement to view all abortion providers as murderers.

You only need look at the comments on the NBC website to see that Law & Order hit the mark with the anti-choice crowd.

Take Action: Tell NBC what you think about the "Dignity" episode of Law & Order.

Lisa Bennett, NOW Communications Director, October 27, 2009

More offenders in : Television, Reproductive Rights, Media Hall of Shame

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Offender: Google AdWords department

Media Outlet: Google

Offense: Google AdWords no longer accepts ads for abortion services in the following countries: Germany, Poland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, Indonesia, Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Peru, France, Italy and Spain.

NOW's Analysis: When you search for something on Google, in addition to the search results, Google displays ads related to that term. This advertising vehicle, called AdWords, helps businesses attract customers and it can help searchers find products and services they may be interested in. A search on the term "abortion" should bring up links to websites that use the term and paid ads for services, such as clinics. But not in the 15 countries listed above.

The countries affected by this update in policy seem to have been chosen almost at random, representing a fairly broad range of political climates. Feministing contacted Google to get to the bottom of this, and a spokesperson offered little enlightenment beyond saying that they "made the change to ensure our policy was fair, up-to-date, consistent with local laws and codes of practice."

Google claims not to take a side on the "emotive subject" of abortion; however, it's curious that this change in policy happened at the same time Google decided to start accepting ads from religious organizations that "aim to educate and inform" or advance a position on abortion legislation. Reproductive rights groups may also place "factual" or "campaigning" ads on Google in those 15 countries; the ban is on ads that might actually direct women to specific abortion providers. Though Google attempts to offer neutral territory in the war on reproductive freedom, the fact that a conscious decision was made to withhold reproductive health care information from women in 15 countries certainly suggests anti-choice leanings.

Take Action: Write to Google and tell them that women in all countries should be able to view ads from abortion providers. Thanks to the Dutch non-profit Women on Waves for bringing this to the attention of women's rights groups around the globe and organizing a petition effort.

National Organization for Women, July 23, 2009

More offenders in : Advertising, Reproductive Rights, Internet, Media Hall of Shame

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Offender: Ann Coulter on the O'Reilly Factor

Media Outlet: Aired on FOX 6/22/09

The Offense: Vocal far-right conservative Ann Coulter took anti-choice hate speech to a level even Bill O'Reilly couldn't support while discussing Dr. George Tiller's murder: "I don't really like to think of it as a murder. It was terminating Tiller in the 203rd trimester," said Coulter.

NOW's Analysis: For the past six years O'Reilly's loathsome "coverage" of Dr. Tiller's work as one of the four OB/GYNs in the country who perform late-term abortions for desperate women has ranged from calling him "Tiller the baby killer" to deeming his healthcare services "Nazi stuff" to stopping himself short of threatening vigilante justice against Tiller.

Even the right-wing O'Reilly pushed Coulter to retract her statement, to which she responded, "I am personally opposed to shooting abortionists, but I don't want to impose my moral values on others." This all but sarcastic lip service is lost in the slew of radical, hateful ideas thrown around during this conversation: Coulter theorizes people aren't talking about Tiller "because they're all hungover from the Hooray-George-Tiller's-Dead party;" she claims Tiller, who she qualifies as "a man responsible for killing 60,000 babies," was just "doing it for the money;" and finally, she undoes her retraction with this comment:

"OK, their logic is, if you don't believe in abortion, don't get an abortion. Well, if you don't believe in shooting abortionists, don't shoot an abortionist."

Coulter continues to belittle and downplay Tiller's heinous murder by contradicting O'Reilly's admission that the killing was an act of domestic terrorism, saying, "I think it was just a random nut." She goes on to misquote statistics about the size of the anti-choice population, which she claims is overwhelming peaceful, having killed "only five abortion doctors" in the past 35 years (the number of murders is actually eight). Apparently, pro-choicers are lucky more haven't been killed at the hands of right-wing hate mongers for the healthcare service they provide women.

This is just another example of how radical right-wing pundits like Coulter are leading us toward a hateful, distorted reality in which murdering a healthcare provider who provides a rare, safe, and completely legal service to women in need is not only accepted, but celebrated.

Take Action: Write to the Executive VP at Fox News and tell him what you think.

Jess Hobbs, NOW Communications Team, July 2, 2009

More offenders in : Television, Media, Reproductive Rights, Harassment, Intimidation, Media Hall of Shame

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