LONDON, ONT. -- For the last month, dueling protests between anti-abortion and pro-choice protestors have been a daily sight in London.
“We have 945 members in the Viewer Discretion Legislation Coalition group, as well as other supporters all around the city,” says Mark Konrad, a co-founder of the VDLC.
The counter protests began when anti abortion flyers with graphic images started showing up in mailboxes across the city. The group is lobbying city council to create a by-law banning such graphic images. The counter protests are designed in the same vein.
“It’s not covering up their message, it’s covering up the images that they use to portray abortion, we don’t even know if those images are legitimate,” says Katie Dean, another co-founder of the group.
Blaise Alleyne is the Eastern Outreach Director for the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, which supports the London anti-abortion group, he says the images are necessary to educate Canadians about what abortion really is.
“I wish there was a pretty picture to show of abortion. But that is the photo reality of what it is. We are showing the photo’s to Canadians across the country, in order to bring an end to the killing. In order to show that abortion is a human rights violation.”
Undaunted, the VDLC has been using social media to grow their network, which reports sightings of the anti-abortion protestors, which they quickly respond and set up a counter protest.
“There are so many people that are coming out, we come out on Saturdays and Sundays as well if we need to. This is our priority right now, this is our job right now basically until they are gone,” says Dean.
London City Council is considering options to limit graphic content delivered to home mailboxes, but a decision is not expected on that until the new year. It will not address the dueling protests being seen several times a day around the city.
