Perhaps the powers that be at Fox like the reputation their network has earned for being a bit more edgy than the big three of NBC, ABC and CBS. Now we find, however, that there may not be as much difference as the network’s bigwigs would like us to think.

Last week the makers of Encare, a contraceptive device for women, told the press they were turned down when they tried to advertise on the Fox’s raunchy, wildly popular show “Temptation Island.” Anyone thinking this must be a joke is wrong. Studio executives, according to Encare marketers, said their policy is to only accept advertisements for contraceptives whose primary function is to stop the spread of disease.

Sexually transmitted diseases are among this country’s most serious health problems, and we certainly appreciate that Fox executives are doing their part to help public health officials encourage the use of condoms. What a morally responsible bunch of people they are.

The moral high ground, however, is apparently as shifting as the sands of the Sahara. Heaven forbid that - during a break in a show where four seemingly happy couples are split apart and encouraged to have sex with a harem of beautiful men and women who are put there exclusively for that purpose - we would air a paid commercial that discusses the kind of sex that won’t leave someone pregnant who doesn’t want to be or doesn’t need to be.

In fact, the commercial in question focuses on a conversation between a married couple in which the woman just isn’t ready for a child.

There are some people who will condemn any frank discussion of sex outside of marriage. Others do not condone the use of contraceptive devices.

But here’s the reality. A report in the Feb. 5 Enterprise Mountaineer (Haywood County’s community newspaper) reported that 51.9 percent of the babies born to county residents last year had mothers who have never been married. Of the 501 births discussed in the article, 72 of the mothers were 17 years old or younger.

Perhaps one of the reasons we are dealing with statistics like this is because of executives who create television programs like “Temptation Island” and irresponsible parents who let their children watch it.
But don’t draw imaginary lines in the sand and then hide behind them, refusing to advertise a birth control device on the very kind of show where it might prevent even one young woman from an unwanted pregnancy and a trip to the health clinic, or worse, the abortion clinic.

 

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The Smoky Mountain News