Back in February, the pro-life group Life Always launched a nationwide ad campaign with the intention of stimulating public awareness about abortion facts. In what many considered to be a controversial move, the group placed a massive billboard in SoHo that depicted a young African-American girl in a pink dress and bow. Above her were emblazoned, in all caps, the words "the most dangerous place for an African American is in the womb."
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The young girl in the ad is six-year-old Anissa Fraser, who had originally gone to a photographer's modeling shoot with her three sisters back in 2009. Her mother, Tricia Fraser, had no idea her daughter would appear on a giant billboard that targeted women, specifically African-Americans, and which called out blatantly against abortion. Fraser's mother is suing Life Always for breach of contract and violation of the New York Civil Rights law, which governs the unauthorized use of her daughter's image.
The ad was removed shortly after it was put up due to heated debate among New Yorkers who believed the ad was racist, sexist and generally offensive. Reverend Stephen Broden, a board member of Texas-based Life Always, defended the ad during an interview with MSNBC, saying that abortion is "a truth that needs to be confronted … There is a depopulation going on in our community because of abortion. There are almost 1400 black abortions a day."
According to the 2009 Summary of Vital Statistics, New York City's abortion rate is 41 percent — double the national average. The abortion rate for African-American women in the city is 60 percent; for Hispanic women, 41 percent; for white women, 20 percent.
Adam Pulver, Fraser's attorney, said in an interview that they are still undergoing preliminary investigation and will have more information if the case moves forward. He did say, however, that after the photographer took a photo of Fraser's then 4-year-old daughter, it was sold to the stock photo house, making it available for purchase online.
"When [an ad agency] purchases [a photo] for a client — when you're acting on behalf of someone — that client is responsible for the breach of contract," Pulver said.
Life Always could not be reached for comment, but in a recent press release, the group stated, "Life Always did not violate its contractual obligations but rather properly exercised its constitutional rights to engage in free speech on a matter of significant public interest."
When asked to respond to that statement, Pulver said, "The contract speaks for itself. It said that the photo could not be used 'in connection with a subject that would be unflattering or unduly controversial to a reasonable person,' and we're arguing that the anti-abortion billboard was unduly controversial and thus violated the terms of the contract."
George Freeman, NYU journalism ethics professor and the assistant general counsel of The New York Times Company, said that the main takeaway in this case is that Life Always' use of the photo was unlawful if their contract with the Frasers was broken.
Freeman spoke of one case in which a pig dove into the lap of a woman in a swimming pool atop a building. "Someone took a picture of her and she signed a contract that allowed the photo to be published in a travel magazine, and then it was published in Chic magazine," he said. "She won this particular case, because she said she gave consent to a travel magazine instead of [Chic] magazine. Even though you can argue from a First Amendment point that if the photo was taken and it was out there, it's still irrelevant because the contract was broken."
In the May 3 issue, WSN inaccurately reported that Lamar Outdoor Advertising was hired by Life Always to purchase the right to use the image of Anissa Fraser. In fact, Lamar Outdoor Agency rented the billboard space to an individual advertiser. WSN regrets the error.
