Teen Mom Advertiser Has Secret Pro-Life Agenda

During episodes of Teen Mom on MTV, commercials can be seen for a “pregnancy help line,” claiming to be a source for “options.” However, what’s really offered is a collection of scary misinformation about the morning-after pill and abortion.

The commercial directs viewers to the website PregnancyLine.org, which asks for a zip code to locate a “women’s clinic near you.” However, no matter what zip code is entered, the site directs everyone to another site, OptionLine.org. The phone number on the site leads to a voice mail for a guy named Greg (or maybe Craig?). We’ve yet to hear back from him.

The most troubling aspect of Option Line is that it offers completely misleading information—if not outright lies—about the morning-after pill, according to Reproductive Rights activist Cassie Narkevic. Option Line implies that taking the emergency contraception is a difficult and harmful process, and is akin to abortion, saying, “Taking Plan B after the sperm has fertilized the egg may prevent this new life from settling into the womb (implantation) and continuing to grow, which is why many consider it an early abortion.” And while Option Line uses the brand names of certain ECs, it never directs to those brands’ own sites, as they would offer accurate medical information about the medications. Narkevic says, “This is obviously an anti-choice website, aimed at preventing MTV’s young audience from becoming informed about their sexual health options.”

However, Option Line’s information on abortion really takes the cake, spending a significant amount of space on the “spiritual consequences,” and stating that women who choose abortion will probably kill themselves—seriously.

In the site’s “get help” section, it asks for a zip code in order to find a “pregnancy center near you.” The only centers that will appear in your area are EMC Pregnancy Centers. These facilities are intentionally deceptive—setting up locations usually across the street from Planned Parenthood facilities—masking as a medical office, when really it’s a counseling center to talk women out of abortion. Playing a loop of graphic abortion videos in the waiting room, they ask questions about religious beliefs on their “medical history” forms. No information on options are offered at these facilities.