Three television networks have refused to air an ad from a leading pro-life group, describing it as “controversial” and “unacceptable,” according to a new report.

The Daily Wire reported Tuesday that CBS, CMT and the Hallmark Channel refused to air a 30-second advertisement from the Susan B. Anthony List that was first released last week. The ad is part of the pro-life group’s $2 million campaign “highlighting the humanity of unborn children as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear a landmark abortion case.” 

The ad campaign follows the announcement that the Supreme Court will hear an appeal from the state of Mississippi, which is seeking to reverse a lower court decision invalidating the state’s 15-week abortion ban. A ruling in favor of that state would weaken the central finding of the 1973 Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which found that a woman has the right to obtain an abortion.

The narrator in the ad notes that after “five decades of medical breakthroughs, every age group has more opportunity to live except one: the unborn.” Explaining that unborn babies “still fall victim to outdated laws,” the ad notes that “science tells us that at 15 weeks, these babies have formed faces, they smile, they yawn [and] they feel pain.”

“It’s why European countries ban late-term abortions,” the ad continues. “In five decades, we have learned they are just like us. Isn’t it time the law reflects the science?” The ad concludes with a picture of the Supreme Court building and a link to the Susan B. Anthony List’s website.

In an email to SBA List, a CBS official explained that “Issue-oriented advertisements that are designed for the purpose of presenting views or influencing legislation on issues that are controversial by general public consensus are unacceptable.” 

An official with CMT offered a nearly identical response in a separate email to the pro-life group: “While we do accept political and issue-based ads on a case-by-case basis, issue-based ads that are designed for the purpose of presenting views or influencing legislation on issues that are controversial by general public consensus are unacceptable.” Both CBS and CMT are owned by Viacom.

In a statement announcing the $2 million ad campaign, Susan B. Anthony List indicated that the 30-second spot “will air on national cable, including on Lifetime, Hallmark, and Bravo networks, as well as select streaming services, and in the Washington, D.C. media market on top news stations.” However, Hallmark ultimately rejected the ad because, as The Daily Wire reported, “it does not meet the Hallmark Channel’s criteria for the positive experience Hallmark aims to offer viewers.”

Full story at Christian Post.