‘This is unacceptable’: Councilman seeks to strengthen regulations on anti-abortion pamphlets in Calgary

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The City of Calgary is seeking to tighten restrictions on the door-to-door distribution of flyers containing images of aborted fetuses, content that one councilmember called “pornographic” and traumatizing to many residents and families.

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In a notice of motion, to be heard at an executive committee meeting Thursday, councilmembers are asking city staff to draft a new statute that would mandate that graphic images in pamphlets often sent out by anti-abortion groups concealed with an envelope, stickers, or folds, and include a viewer discretion warning. A majority of city council members signed the notice of motion, so it will likely pass during Thursday’s meeting.

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“We have to say this is unacceptable,” Ward 2 Coun. Jennifer Wyness told Postmedia on Sunday.

“People don’t hand out porn to get a message across, and yet somehow this organization continues to do something that I would equate to porn.”

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Wyness initiated the motion after hearing from several of her constituents who were affected by the gory images, which often show images of fetuses that she says are “distorted and posed.” She said unsolicited images often re-traumatize families who have suffered miscarriages and women who have had abortions.

“Children who find these images before their parents have questions about ‘Well, what is that?’ Parents need to engage in sex education with children maybe before the child is ready, or the family is ready to engage in that conversation,” Wyness said.

“Children have nightmares after seeing it.”

Calgary is one of the few Canadian cities that already has a flyer restriction statute. In 2016, the city revised its community standards statute, introducing an anti-spam adjustment that prohibited commercial and non-commercial flyers from being deposited in homes with a “no spam” sign. The city took the action recognizing “the rights of parents to control their children’s access to potentially disturbing or offensive material” and local anti-abortion groups fought the change.

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Current regulations force residents to choose between not receiving flyers or receiving all flyers, including those containing images of aborted fetuses, Wyness said in her motion. Additionally, she said residents cannot consent to viewing these graphic images when they are left in a mailbox.

“If this image is going to be on the 6 o’clock news, it has to be blurry. If you were to put it in your paper, it has to be blurred,” Wyness said.

“This image is regulated on all other platforms for public consumption, except when this organization decides to put it on your doorstep.”

The changes suggested for Calgary are consistent with a statute ratified earlier this year in London, Ontario.

The City of London now requires anti-abortion organizations to deliver materials containing graphic images in a sealed envelope with a content warning. Convictions under the statutes carry a fine of at least $350. Toronto is exploring a similar statute.

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Twitter: @miguelrdrguez