The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) rejected complaints made against a pro-life group about a billboard campaign on 2 August.
In January 2017, Both Lives Matter (BLM) ran two billboards in Northern Ireland claiming ‘100,000 people are alive today because of our laws on abortion. Why change that?" Fourteen complainants argued that this claim was misleading and could be not be substantiated. The ASA carried out a thorough investigation, seeking expert statistical advice, which has backed the claim made by BLM.
Calculations correct
Dawn McAvoy of BLM commented, ‘We are delighted with this result. Our opponents said we could not substantiate the claim despite us producing a robust report. The ASA have examined our calculations and backed our figure. Their expert concluded that it is reasonable to say that 100,000 people are alive today who would have otherwise been aborted had it been legal to do so. This independent verification is a real endorsement of our campaign.’
