EDMONTON, Alberta (LifeSiteNews) — Edmonton is moving to join a growing number of Canadian cities that censor abortion victim photography.
On July 2nd, the Edmonton City council unanimously approved a motion to amend city bylaws to require that flyers with graphic images, namely abortion victim photography, be covered with an envelope warning the recipient of its graphic nature.
The amendment would “require all unsolicited printed material containing graphic images distributed to residential properties to be contained in a sealed opaque envelope marked with a content warning and the sender’s name and address, including a minimum fine amount of $500.”
The change, introduced by Ward Dene Councillor Aaron Paquette, applies to all graphic flyers, but would specifically target pro-life flyers that include images of aborted babies.
During the council meeting, City Councilor Erin Rutherford declared that while “we are all trying to skirt around it,” the amendment relates to “specifically abortion-related material.”
“Material that isn’t actually going into the mail but being hand delivered at people’s houses,” she explained. “A lot of times, at least what I have heard from some of the residents that I represent, their kids are going to get the mailbox and seeing these really graphic abortion images.”
The motion was unanimously passed but has not yet been made law.
If the bylaw is enforced, Edmonton will join a growing number of cities to censor pro-life pamphlets revealing the horrific truth of abortion.
In May, Calgary passed legislation mandating that flyers with graphic images of aborted babies, or “fetuses” as it says, “must be concealed in an opaque envelope, with a graphic content warning, and include the name and address of the sender, when delivered to homes.”
Those found to violate the new rule can face fines of up to $1,000 per violation, and the city has promised to “investigate” and enforce the bylaw.
The Canadian Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) plans to legally challenge the bylaw, which it said not only censors abortion victim photography but bans “ultrasound images of naturally developing pre-born children, hiding from Calgarians … the beautiful reality of pre-born life.”
In addition to street activism, a large part of CCBR’s mission is distributing pro-life flyers containing abortion victim photography to houses across Canada. CCBR says that the bylaw proves the effectiveness of its pro-life flyers.
Pro-life censorship has also spread to Ontario, as a London, Ontario bylaw bans delivering a flyer with “any image of a fetus to a private residence unless the flyer is placed in a sealed envelope with the warning that it ‘contains a Graphic Image that may be offensive or disturbing to some people.’”
As LifeSiteNews previously reported, the Association of Reformed Political Action Canada (ARPA), a Christian-based political action group began legal action against the bylaw in June.
