Article content continued

Another protester stands close to the clinic door with more disturbing images purporting to be of an aborted fetus. Barrett isn’t a fan of his, he said, though they’re on the same side of the issue.

“I can see people’s problem with this guy in front of the abortuary. I can see people’s problem with the pictures he has,” Barrett said. “They are disgusting, because abortion is disgusting as far as I’m concerned.”

But Barrett argues that being made uncomfortable isn’t the same as being assaulted.

In the meantime, nothing will change about enforcing existing laws on assault and harassment outside the Bank Street clinic. It takes a report alleging a violation of the law to get the police involved. There are bylaws covering major demonstrations that impede traffic, but they don’t really apply to a handful of protesters on a sidewalk.

The city has a duty to ensure women’s safety as they seek a legally protected, publicly funded medical procedure, Watson said, but won’t step up beyond what it’s already doing.

“I’ve spoken to the chief on this and he’s assured me that if harassment continues, individuals are to call 911 and the police will get there as soon as possible,” Watson said. “We can’t have a police officer standing at the clinic 24 hours a day — that’s just not practical.”

That’s not great, said Shayna Hodson, the Ottawa clinic’s director.

“Legislation will take some time, and now that the protesters also know that they are working on a solution that will remove their ability to protest directly outside the clinic, it will increase the threat, risk, violence and aggression outside the clinic, while there is still no interim solution,” she wrote in an email to the Citizen.

Nobody was protesting in the driving rain outside the Morgentaler clinic on Monday, a day when the clinic doesn’t schedule patient appointments.

With files from Alison Mah

dreevely@postmedia.com

twitter.com/davidreevely