Pro-Life Ad With Boxing Legend Manny Pacquiao Approved for World Cup

Six years after a Faces of Choice Super Bowl ad introducing abortion survivors to America was blocked days before airing, the pro-life organization now has another opportunity to bring those same voices before a global audience.

Faces of Choice has created a powerful new World Cup commercial featuring boxing legend Manny Pacquiao and abortion survivors from around the world — men and women who survived abortion procedures intended to end their lives before birth.

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The ad has now been approved, and an initial international placement will run during the World Cup final weekend. Faces of Choice is still working against the clock to fund additional placement while this rare window remains open, so this message can reach as many people as possible.

For Faces of Choice founder Lyric Gillett, the moment carries deep significance.

“Six years ago, our Super Bowl ad was blocked just before the game,” Gillett said. “That ad was created to introduce culture to abortion survivors, not as statistics, not as political arguments, but as real people with names, faces, families, and stories. Now, during one of the largest global media moments in the world, we have another chance.”

Pacquiao’s involvement in the ad campaign also carries special significance given his long-standing public pro-life convictions. In addition to his historic boxing career, Pacquiao served in the Philippine Senate from 2016 to 2022, where he was known not only as a national sports icon, but as a public figure willing to speak openly about faith, family, and the value of human life.

The campaign’s message is simple: “Choice is not just a word. Choice is a person.”

The original 2020 Faces of Choice ad premiered at the March for Life in Washington, D.C., where the stories of survivors were received by pro-life advocates from across the country. Survivors such as Melissa Ohden of the Abortion Survivors Network, Dr. Imre Téglásy of Human Life International, Robin Sertell, Josiah Presley, Lisa Manasco, Claire Culwell, Denisha Workizer, Anderson Ocampo of Passion Life, Pastor Gary Yamamoto, Lauren Eden, and so many others from the United States and all around the world, reveal the faces of “choice.”

“Abortion survivors change the conversation because they reveal what is at stake in human form,” Gillett said. “When people come face to face with someone who survived an abortion procedure, a powerful paradigm shift takes place. Abortion survivors’ lives challenge the idea that “choice” is an abstraction. These are sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, teachers, pastors, artists, athletes, and neighbors…Real people, made in the image of God.”

Actor Kevin Sorbo has also joined the effort, recording and sharing an urgent video message encouraging pro-lifers to support the campaign. Sorbo said he believes the world needs to hear directly from abortion survivors themselves.

“This is the kind of message the world needs to see,” Gillett said. “This is no longer theoretical: the ad is approved, the survivors are ready, and the campaign is beginning internationally during the World Cup final weekend. Now the focus is on expanding the reach of this campaign while this rare global window remains open.”

Faces of Choice was founded to amplify the voices of people who survived abortions and to challenge the culture to recognize the humanity of every child in the womb. The organization’s work centers on survivor-led storytelling, media campaigns, and directing viewers to existing life-affirming networks like Heartbeat International.

“This is not simply about one ad campaign,” she said. “This is about changing the way the world sees abortion and “choice.” It’s the beginning of a much larger vision: a global media initiative to introduce abortion survivors to the world as the faces of “choice.” We hope to build a lasting platform where their stories can continue to be seen, heard, and connected to the existing networks of life-affirming care. The World Cup gives us a once-in-a-generation opportunity to open that door, but the mission does not end there.”

More information about Faces of Choice is available here: www.facesofchoice.org