A Facebook page named "Virgin Mary Should've Aborted" has been removed by Facebook after a successful protest campaign by pro-lifers.
The campaign was spearheaded by Cary Bogue, chief executive of Project Wildfire, who runs the Facebook page Catholics & Protestants United Against Christian Discrimination.
The group challenged Facebook to abide by its community standards which, among other things, ban attacks against others on the basis of their religion.
The offensive page depicted the Virgin Mary holding an aborted baby Jesus while smoking a joint.
The baby Jesus is wearing a crown of thorns and has blood flowing from his side.
The page, which had 12,000 followers, was accompanied by a profile picture that showed a pregnant Virgin Mary alongside an expletive.
Bogue said the page was not a First Amendment issue but rather about FB's own standards on hate speech.
"If this is not the exact definition of hate speech directed at a religion, I am not sure what is?" Bogue said.
"We all know Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is an avowed atheist, pro-abortion and a strong advocate for the LGBT [community], but that does not excuse him from continuing to allow this page to remain.
"I challenge him or anyone at Facebook to explain to the Christians across America how that wasn't hate speech directed against Christianity."
