Students for Life have made a formal complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority about the State funded MyOptions pregnancy counselling service, accusing it of false advertising for claiming that it provides “information and support on all your options, including continued pregnancy supports” when advising women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy.
In recent months, Students for Life carried out research on MyOptions and arranged for a series of phone calls to the agency to establish a clear picture regarding the advice and counselling they provide to clients.
The research showed a clear pattern involving MyOptions counsellors being the first to raise abortion with women facing an unexpected pregnancy and evidence of not being equipped to talk to clients about options other than abortion.
As well as lodging a complaint to the Advertising Standards Authority, Students for Life has also called for a complete overhaul of how the MyOptions hotline operates and said in a statement that people with experience in meeting the needs of women who wish to continue their pregnancy should be invited by the Government to participate in the decision making process and be appointed to relevant bodies overseeing policy in the area of unplanned pregnancy.
You can read a summary of the Students for Life research here.