Tim Tebow for those out there who don’t know, was, until recently, the quarterback for the University of Florida football team. His collegiate career over, he’ll soon enter the NFL draft, where he may or may not be a huge superstar.

So how is this relevant to Choice 2.0? Well, Tebow’s story is somewhat well-known, at least in the evangelical world. According to the good folks at Wikipedia, when Tebow’s mother was pregnant with him, she became quite ill, a result of which she was given medication that had the great possibility of causing a stillborn birth. Doctors told her that it may be wise to consider abortion, but she refused, and gave birth to Tim. 22 years later, Tim’s become a poster child for some in the anti-choice crowd, and more pressingly, will evidently appear in a commercial for Focus on the Family, a prominent anti-choice, anti-gay evangelical group, which they hope to have air during this year’s Super Bowl. While the actual script of the ad is unknown, it’s apparent that both Tebow and his mother will appear, and that the gist of the ad will be anti-abortion.

Various sporting blogs have weighed in on this, some more sarcastically than others. Even through the snark, it’s clear that this is a rather unprecedented move for an up-and-coming athlete, and much space is being devoted to how this will impact his popularity with fans and, in a larger context, his entire career.

Tim is entitled to feel however he wants to about issues, as is his mother. What concerns me, however, is the effect this kind of argument has on women who are in similar situations to the one faced by Tebow’s mom. Yes, Pam Tebow did not choose to have an abortion and she was lucky to give birth to a child who did not have any of the disabilities or problems that doctors feared. But by holding up the story of the Tebows as an example, Focus on the Family implies that all women can have this result, if only they have enough faith. So what then happens to the women whose children aren’t so lucky? What happens to their faith? Will they wonder what they did to not be as blessed as Pam Tebow?

I fear that, by glorifying the story of the Tebows, it’s going to lead some women down a path in which they ignore the advice of doctors, instead choosing to listen to medical advice given to them by those who have no business doing so. And where, I wonder, will those women turn, if they’re not as fortunate? Not every mother can give birth to the star quarterback. No matter how hard she prays.

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