Bill would ban abortion clinics near public schools

Legislation filed in the Alabama House of Representatives aimed at an abortion clinic in Huntsville could affect at least one other clinic in the state.

The bill, sponsored by Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, would prevent abortion clinics from locating within 2,000 feet of a public school. The ban would apply to clinics seeking new licenses and clinics seeking renewals.

"There's always protests, there's back and forth, there's signs, there's graphic things said from both sides, the proponents and opponents of abortion," Henry said. "This bill contends this is not something that needs to be in front of a public K-12 school."

Both Henry and Cheryl Ciamarra of Alabama Citizens for Life, which supports the bill, said the legislation was aimed at a clinic in Huntsville. Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives closed last summer due to a state law imposing new building requirements on abortion clinics. The clinic reopened in a new location in Huntsville last fall. The new location is close to an elementary school.

"This bill would address concerns about a revolving door between public schools and abortion providers who make a profit," Ciamarra said.

It was not clear how the legislation might affect other abortion clinics. Reproductive Health Services, Montgomery's single abortion provider, is about four-tenths of a mile from Bellinger Hill Elementary School. According to Google Maps, the clinic is just outside the 2,000-foot limit.

A clinic in Tuscaloosa is located just outside the University of Alabama campus. The language in the bill currently says "public schools," but Henry said he planned to change it to specifically mean K-12 schools.

Nikema Williams, vice president of public policy for Planned Parenthood Southeast, which runs clinics in Birmingham and Mobile, said the impact would largely depend on how schools were defined. The Birmingham clinic, she said, is within 2,000 feet of several properties owned by the University of Alabama Birmingham.

The 2,000-foot restriction is the same as the restriction on convicted sex offenders living or working near a school.

"To treat us as if we should be on some watch list as convicted sex offenders is asinine," she said.

The state's efforts to change abortion laws have landed the state in court in recent years. Last year, U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson ruled a state law that required all doctors at abortion clinics to have admitting privileges violated abortion rights.

The Legislature passed a number of abortion regulations last year, including one extending the waiting period for an abortion from 24 hours to 48 hours. Senate President Pro Tem Del Marsh, R-Anniston, stopped a bill last year that would have banned abortions at the detection of fetal heartbeat from coming to vote, saying the state did not have the money to become another legal test case.

"If this legislation passes, it is going to be litigated," said Susan Watson, executive director of the ACLU of Alabama. "You can't take away someone's business or right to do business just because you don't like it."

Henry indicated litigation was not a concern.

"I dare not predict whether someone might sue or not sue," he said.