Wyoming Newspaper Accused of Bias Against Pro-Life Advertisements
by Maria Gallagher
LifeNews.com Staff Writer
January 15, 2004
Jackson, WY (LifeNews.com) — Pro-life activists in Wyoming are accusing a local newspaper of blatant bias against pro-life advertising.
The Jackson Hole News & Guide, along with its free daily, the Jackson Hole Daily, has refused to print ads that contain pictures of unborn children.
Pro-life leader Elaine Joyce Kuhr of the Teton County Chapter of Wyoming Right to Life characterized the photos as "absolutely beautiful, stunning pictures" and said there was "nothing offensive or gory" about them.
The pictures came from the Life Issues Institute, a national pro-life organization.
Kuhr said she has been running ads in local newspapers for a number of years, showing photos of unborn children, especially the "teardrop baby," a child of six to seven weeks gestation who is the product of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy.
However, after she began using the Life Issues Institute photos — pictures which are especially captivating, but not graphic — she reports she "got more aggravation from
people."
In September, newspaper publisher Mike Sellett told Kuhr’s ad representative "there would be no more fetus photos" and "he pulled the ad I had scheduled to run the next day and substituted it with another of my ads which did not have a photo," Kuhr said.
Sellett did not respond to LifeNews.com’s request for comment.
Kuhr notes that a rival newspaper, Planet Jackson Hole, ran a piece entitled, "Who’s Afraid of a Fetus," chastising Sellett’s newspapers for refusing to run the photographs. Planet Jackson Hole argued that the newspapers were violating Kuhr’s right to freedom of expression.
Newspapers and television stations have routinely balked at running pictures of what happens to a child during an abortion, claiming the pictures are too controversial and unnecessarily provocative.
However, a number of publications have run pictures of 4-D ultrasound images which show the humanity of the unborn child.
To pro-life advocates, a newspaper’s refusal to run pictures of unborn children in paid advertisements appears to be nothing more than censorship. Research has shown that, if pregnant women are shown ultrasound images of their unborn children, they are much less likely to abort.
Kuhr notes that, despite objections raised by a number of readers, the Wyoming newspapers do not appear poised to reverse their decision.
"Despite pleas and letters to the editor — pro and con, of course — the publisher will not budge," Kuhr said.
You can contact the Jackson Hole News and Guide at https://www.jhguide.com or P.O. 7445, Jackson, Wyoming 83002, (p) (307) 733-2047, (f) (307) 733-2138. Publisher Mike Sellett can be reached at [email protected]
