UPDATE 1/13/06: Apparently activists are taking matters into their own hands and many of these advertisements are being defaced, as reported in local corporate media. Read the Catholic League's statement about Indybay

Slick anti-choice advertisements have recently appeared in BART trains and stations. The ads imply that San Franciscans and women in general are opposed to abortion, or at the very least have qualms about it, without discussing the fact that women should be able to choose for themselves if and when to have children. The ads, instead, ask, "Abortion: Have We Gone too Far?"

The roman catholic archdiocese of Oakland wrote that BART’s advertising agency, Viacom, approved a pair of professionally prepared ads targeting women of “pro choice” persuasion for "education" about the Roe vs. Wade Supreme Court decision. These ads, entitled “Choose” and “9 months,” were commissioned by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-Life Secretariat. The ads began to appear in BART cars the day after Christmas, a month before the Roe v. Wade anniversary and Samuel Alito's nomination hearings. The ads have also been seen in some BART stations. The entity responsible for these ads is the Second Look Project of the Respect Life Ministry of the Oakland Diocese.

BART has rejected ads from anti-war groups in the past, but apparently it does not object to the content in the anti-choice ads. BART reportedly does not run ads for pornography, tobacco or liquor, although these are legal industries. Contact info for BART and its board members

Some local catholic church organizations: Diocese of Oakland Family Life Office | Young Adult Ministry and Campus Ministry of the SF Archdiocese