Heated anti-abortion rhetoric has been all over the news this year, thanks a series of "sting" videos released by an anti-abortion group in April and the congressional hearings that followed them. But a new study has found that even the most peaceful demonstrations outside abortion clinics can have a traumatic effect on women. At a time when protesters are getting more aggressive and the Supreme Court has already nixed "buffer zones" outside clinics, this study could start a conversation about how to keep women safe in these circumstances.The study, titled "A Hard Enough Decision to Make," looked at anti-abortion activism outside clinics in the U.K., but according to Broadly , the tactics they use are familiar ones. "Once a uniquely American phenomenon," Sarah Graham wrote, "anti-abortion protests, or 'vigils,' have been springing up outside British abortion clinics for the last few years."The study's authors, Dr. Pam Lowe and Dr. Graeme Hayes, found that the mere presence of anti-abortion activists outside a clinic was enough to distress a woman who has an appointment. "Even if the women were not approached directly, many reported that being watched by activists was very intimidating," they wrote. "The presence of the activists outside the clinics was considered by clinic users to draw public attention to the decision that they had made."