Just last week, a group of anti-abortion protesters set up on a street corner a few blocks from where I live. They?ve been making appearances at major intersections around downtown Toronto all summer long, toting massive, highly disturbing posters with images of bloodied embryos. It?s too much for even an adult to witness. But it?s not just high-traffic downtown locations they favour? more and more, they?re hanging out in residential neighbourhoods, too. (And don?t even get me started on the graphic flyers they plant in mailboxes?you know kids love to grab the mail, right")
I?m lucky that I knew the protesters would be there. My Facebook community group monitors their activities so I could keep my kids away until they were gone. But so many others, pedestrians, cyclists and motorists, are caught off guard by these shock-value demonstrations.
While these protesters aren?t doing anything illegal, their actions are hurtful?and that?s what they?re going for, I suppose. The intent of these pro-life protests is to upset communities with violent images and disrespectful language. But their message?of the sanctity of life?is delivered with a complete disregard for many other lives. Maybe you?re a woman who?s chosen abortion, or lost a baby, or you?re pregnant. I can?t image the impact these images would have.
Or perhaps, like me, you?re a mom with very small children who don?t understand what these images mean. My kids are two, four and six and have var...