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AP PHOTO

Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, above, is shown with the Heisman Trophy in 2007. An anti-abortion ad slated to run during the Super Bowl, featuring Tebow's mother, is sparking controversy.

AMHERST - A program affiliated with Hampshire College has signed on to a protest of an anti-abortion ad slated to run during the Super Bowl.

Last week, Hampshire's Center for Civil Liberties and Public Policy (CLPP) joined a coalition of pro-choice activists in characterizing CBS's decision to air the 30-second ad, which will feature 2007 Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow and his mother, Pam Tebow, hypocritical and manipulative. The network had previously shot down an ad proposed by a liberal-leaning church, according to CBS News.

Mia K. Sullivan, associate director of programs at CLPP, said her organization signed a letter earlier this week, along with a coalition of advocacy groups that include the National Organization for Women (NOW) and Equality Now, to pressure CBS to pull the ad. The letter, which was sent to CBS, was drafted by the Women's Media Center, a New York City-based nonprofit.

Half-minute ads are airing during the Super Bowl at a cost of $2.5 million to $2.8 million.

"They've rejected progressive political ads so this is not a matter of being able to afford it, this is preferential treatment of a particular view point," Sullivan said.

Following the protest, CBS officials said the decision to air the Tebow ad reflects a change in the station's policy on airing advocacy spots, not support for a specific message.

While it hasn't been released yet, the Tebow ad reportedly tells the story of Pam Tebow's pregnancy in 1987. Suffering medical complications, Tebow was allegedly advised to abort her fifth child, Tim Tebow. Pam Tebow ignored this advice and is now the mother of a Florida Gators star quarterback, according to information provided on family patriarch Bob Tebow's ministry Web site.

In 2009, 95 million people watched the Super Bowl. According to a recent Nielsen Co. survey, 51 percent of people questioned said they enjoy watching advertisements that air during the Super Bowl more than watching the game.

The Tebow ad is sponsored by Focus on the Family, a conservative evangelical mission based in Colorado Springs, Colo. The ad was funded by a handful of donors, according to Jim Daly, president and CEO of Focus on the Family.

"The Tebows' story is such an important one for our culture to hear," Daly said in a statement. "Tim and Pam share our respect for life and our passion for helping families thrive."

Sullivan said she is concerned the ad will be interpreted not as a single person's story, but as a condemnation of abortion.

"The ad takes this personal story about a deeply personal decision, his mother's decision to carry her pregnancy to term, and translates that into a mandate for all women across a range of circumstances: medical, financial and social, which is a very different thing to do," Sullivan said.

CBS has received numerous emails, both critical and supportive, since the ad has been protested by the coalition of advocates, according to CBS News. Sullivan said CLPP has received positive feedback about the protest campaign.

However, CBS officials said Tuesday, the ad will run as planned. The decision to air the Tebow ad reflects a change in station policies toward advocacy ads, CBS News reported.

In 2004, CBS rejected an ad by the United Church of Christ which highlighted the church's welcoming stance toward gay people, according to CBS News. "We have for some time moderated our approach to advocacy submissions after it became apparent that our stance did not reflect public sentiment or industry norms," said CBS spokesman Dana McClintock, according to CBS News.

Sullivan said she was surprised CBS decided to break with its stance against airing advocacy spots and was dismayed that the television station's first foray into advocacy advertising would appear during the highly viewed, and mostly non-political Super Bowl.

"Everybody saw this as being an unwelcome, intolerant, divisive integration into the normal Super Bowl advertising extravaganza," Sullivan said. "It's a really surprising partisan and political interjection into the Super Bowl and into a very nonpartisan, family-oriented, and welcoming event."