No doubt Americans love Doritos, and babies. So naturally the Super Bowl ad depicting the addictive attraction of Doritos even to a baby shown on an ultrasound still in the mother’s womb, was a clever and the third most popular commercial of the night according to USA Today.
While most found humor in the commercial, there were some haters, including NARAL (National Abortion Rights Action League) Pro-Choice America that took offense at what they referred to as Doritos’ “humanizing” the baby.
On Twitter during the Super Bowl NARAL staffers tweeted: “#NotBuyingIt – that @Doritos ad using #antichoice tactic of humanizing fetuses & sexist tropes of dads as clueless & moms as uptight. #SB50” (7:07 PM – 7 Feb 2016).
For the record, the Doritos baby was within days of its due date, according to the doctor performing the sonogram in the commercial, “there’s your beautiful baby … any day now!” But that didn’t seem to matter to NARAL.
The organization that helped to legalize abortion in the United States in the early 1970s and continues today to advocate for radical abortion laws today. Despite the fact this was a fully developed human person, this organization is advocating for the extreme position of abortion up to the day of birth.
This position is radically out of touch with the American people. A Marist poll released in mid-January revealed that 8 out of 10 Americans – 80 percent — would restrict abortion, at most, to the first three months of pregnancy.
NARAL is not alone in assuming such extreme views. A number of months ago a reporter asked Democratic National Committee Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz if she would support aborting a seven pound unborn baby. She replied that she does not support any limits on abortion; in other words, “yes.”
In days past abortion advocates used the phrase “safe, legal and rare.” Bill Clinton used this term when referring to general policy but today the new normal is abortion, without limits, on demand.
This is a significant tactical change. No longer are the pro-abortion forces feigning to be concerned for the mother or the child. There are few doctors in America who would recommend a woman have an abortion within days of birth. The trauma to the mother and the death of a fully viable fetus would be dangerous and deadly.
The Marist Poll, by a 25 point margin, (55 to 30 percent), found Americans believe abortion ultimately does a woman more harm than good; this data includes one fourth of women who self-identify as pro-choice. And six out of ten Americans (including 61 percent of women) believe that abortion is “morally wrong.”
Pro-life and pro-woman go hand in hand, but we have yet to hear where the leading woman candidate in the presidential race stands. In the 2016 election cycle, Democratic Debates have been void of any questions related to the topic of abortion and life. Even NARAL is airing its concerns about this by advocating the use of hashtag “AskAboutAbortion” during debates. More recently Senator Marco Rubio turned a question about his stance on life into a broader question about where Hillary Clinton stands on abortion limits; i.e., would she support abortion until birth. (She was later asked this specific question by a reporter and evaded the question even when he pushed.)
Doritos’ clever ad and the response it received is an indication of America’s perspective on such issues. And with respect to NARAL’s concern that the little guy or gal about to make his or her entrance into the world is being too humanized: ultrasounds make use of technology that simply reveals what is happening, it doesn’t create something that isn’t there. Yes, it’s a baby, not a lifeless blob of tissue. And recognizing the humanity and dignity of that little person makes positions such as abortion until birth very difficult to comprehend.
The abortion advocates of years past have given up on reasonable positions that the American people would support. This is why young people, who see this as a human rights issue and care deeply about protecting life, in all forms are not buying their hateful rhetoric.
Jeanne Mancini is President of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund.