BRITAIN: A Christmas "immaculate contraception" campaign for a morning-after pill has been withdrawn by a drug company in Britain after causing religious offence.
The poster, which appeared on London Underground trains, asked: "Immaculate contraception? If only."
"It might be Christmas time," it continued, "but condoms still split and pills still get forgotten. So if your contraception lets you down, ask your pharmacist for Levonelle One Step."
Schering Health Care, a subsidiary of Schering AG of Germany, said in a statement it had decided to withdraw the "inappropriate" advert after receiving several letters of complaint from members of the public and interest groups.
"We take this step as a responsible manufacturer in recognition of the religious concerns expressed to us," it said.
"This advertisement was intended as a play on words to indicate that there is no such thing as immaculate contraception," it added.
The poster also prompted 109 complaints to Britain's Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
The authority has now launched a formal investigation into the advert.
An ASA spokeswoman said the complaints, including one from the National Association of Catholic Families, were mainly related to religion.
Others found the advert irresponsible because they felt it encouraged casual sex and trivialised unwanted pregnancies. - (Reuters)