BBC Show Hunter Depicting Pro-Life Advocates as Kidnappers, Killers Airs Again
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 10, 2009
London, England (LifeNews.com) — A BBC show that depicts pro-life people as kidnappers and killers will air again even though it caused a national outrage the first time. The first episode of the controversial two-part drama plays tonight even though it features an actress who looks almost identical to one pro-life leader.
The first time around, pro-life advocates condemned "The Hunter" as another example of the kind of media bias that makes millions of pro-life advocates appear as extremists who would engage in strange or illegal acts.
It features an investigation into a child kidnapping by a group of pro-life advocates who eventually kill one of the hostages when ransom demands are refused. The drama, originally broadcast last month on BBC One, had a significant number of details linking terrorists in the program with real pro-life groups.
Writer Mike Ford reportedly said he wanted to make it “as accurate as possible."
While the violence can’t be further from the truth, the attempt to identify one pro-life advocate is clear as the actress playing one of the kidnappers looks almost identical to Josephine Quintavalle, a longtime pro-life advocate in Britain.
Quintavalle is upset and told the Christian Institute in an interview that, “Everyone should be outraged at such a manipulative representation of abortion politics.”
Pat Buckley of the European Life Network also commented on the biased BBC program.
“I wonder if the BBC would care to explain why telling such hate-ridden lies about pro-life campaigners does not constitute a hate crime?" he said. “Besides the insult and injustice of such a portrayal, promoting the false suggestion to millions of viewers that pro-lifers are violent and dangerous leaves pro-life campaigners at increased risk of violent attack themselves."
John Smeaton, the national director of SPUC, is also upset about the program and its warped view of pro-life people.
"Of course, this is just a fictional situation, but pro-life people are the last to threaten children. Indeed, we defend them," he said.
Smeaton hopes viewers see the irony in a program that describes defenders of children as attackers.
He also says the program doesn’t square with the truth about abortion.
"There is a grim irony that one of the extremists in the program has spina bifida and seems to want revenge for the deaths of people with a similar disability through abortion," he explained. "The overwhelming majority of unborn babies discovered to have spina bifida in Britain are aborted."
ACTION: Contact the BBC and express your disappointment about its warped and biased presentation of pro-life people. You can find various ways to contact the station at https://www.bbc.co.uk/feedback
Sign Up for Free Pro-Life News From LifeNews.com
Daily Pro-Life News Report Twice-Weekly Pro-Life
News Report Receive a free daily email report from LifeNews.com with the latest pro-life news stories on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here. Receive a free twice-weekly email report with the latest pro-life news headlines on abortion, euthanasia and stem cell research. Sign up here.
