Matthias Wielinga says it’s meant to show the truth about abortion.
“Our end goal is to make abortion unthinkable,” he said this morning (Tuesday) while standing beside a giant anti-abortion sign with a graphic image of a fetus at the corner of Main and Ontario streets.
Wielinga is the team lead of a group of four young protesters with the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform who were at the busy intersection for most of the morning. They were gone by noon.
Their presence met with the ire of at least one local woman, who expressed her concern about children visiting the adjacent plaza and seeing the disturbing photos.
“How long are you planning to be here?” she asked the young activists, and chose not to give her name when approached by MiltonToday. “Little kids don’t need to see this… it’s traumatizing. I suggest you rethink your strategy.”
Wielinga, whose group stages similar anti-abortion protests across the GTA, said this was the only confrontation his team had by mid-morning, but understands people's concerns about the signs.
“We try to be as civil as possible and de-escalate situations.”
The Town of Milton has no bylaw dealing with the use of graphic imagery during protests.