Graphic roadside anti-abortion signs could be target of stricter sign bylaw

London may soon consider broadening its prohibition of graphic anti-abortion images to include their public display on signs, banners and billboards.

Deanna Ronson, a local member of the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada (ARCC), wants city council to prohibit people from displaying images of aborted fetuses along roadways and in other public settings.

Ronson points to the psychological harm that can be done to children or to women who have experienced a miscarriage or abortion.

“The harm can be quite substantial because of the nature of the images that are depicted,” she told CTV News.

On Tuesday, the Community and Protective Services Committee supported a motion by Coun. Mariam Hamou directing staff to prepare a report about potentially expanding the sign bylaw to prohibit graphic images in public.

“We’re not trying to shut down freedom of speech, that’s not what we’re trying to do here,” Hamou explained. “What we’re trying to do is limit graphic images on our streets.”

Earlier this year, council approved a new by-law forbidding the door-to-door delivery of flyers containing images of fetuses after complaints were received from several neighbourhoods.

The organization behind the flyers and some of the graphic banners warns that, “Litigation appears inevitable.”

“The City of London is engaging in what no government has the power to do — to single out one particular message to regulate, censor and suppress,” wrote Blaise Alleyne of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform in a statement to CTV News.

But Ronson says the Right to Freedom of Expression has limits.

“You don’t get to cause harm to others just because you feel you have the right to do so. It’s that simple,” she said.

Hamou added that city council shouldn’t be swayed by a threat of litigation.

“It may be challenged in court, but I think we’re ready to fight that fight,” she said.

Council will decide if staff will prepare a report outlining possible changes to the sign bylaw at a meeting on Aug. 2.