France’s Audiovisual and Digital Communication Regulatory Authority has fined a TV channel for accurately reporting that abortion is the leading cause of death worldwide, reports LifeSiteNews.com. While some claim differences in numbers, abortion killed far more than cancer or smoking.
Who Fined?
In early November, the French media regulatory authority, Arcom, fined CNEWS 100,000 Euros after journalist Aymeric Pourbaix accurately listed abortion as the world’s highest cause of death. This was during the channel’s Catholic program called “In Search of Spirit.” He simply read the numbers from the chart.
The French TV authority claimed,
Abortion cannot be presented as a cause of death. [The report] equates abortion with a cause of death and, by implication, the embryo or fetus that could not be born alive because of an abortion with a deceased person, even though in law they are not considered as persons [1].
Arcom continued by saying that this channel had failed in its “obligation of honesty.”
Jean Marie Le Méné, head of the pro-life Jérôme Lejeune Foundation, said,
In order for abortion to be practiced with a clear conscience, it is forbidden to say that abortion takes life. Otherwise the keystone of the system collapses. But who believes this fiction? … Abortion, the leading cause of death in the world, is unfortunately a fact, not an opinion [2].
WHO Numbers
During this particular February program, Pourbaix presented a Worldometers chart based on figures from the World Health Organization. According to the chart, abortion constituted 52 percent of deaths worldwide, with 73 million babies being killed each year. This is compared to a mere 10 million from cancer and another 6.2 million from smoking.
Repercussions
Besides the fine, Arcom mandated that CNEWS, owned by Catholic businessman Vincent Bolloré, publicly apologize for showing the public graph.
Later, Le Méné told the media that Arcom’s decision was an attempt to silence the reality of abortions. Arcom’s decision comes just months after the Council of State recommended that CNEWS be tightly controlled following its pro-life report, according to the European Conservative.
Notes:
- ^ {French TV channel fined {\mbox{\texteuro}}100k for accurately stating abortion is world’s leading cause of death – LifeSite} (go back ↩)
- ^ {French TV channel fined {\mbox{\texteuro}}100k for accurately stating abortion is world’s leading cause of death – LifeSite} (go back ↩)
