(LifeSiteNews) – Despite internal calls from party members and some elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), Alberta’s government said it will not consider repealing a province-wide “bubble zone” law limiting pro-life activism outside abortion centers.
In 2018, Alberta passed a “bubble zone” law that came into force under then-Premier Rachel Notley of the NDP that made it illegal for pro-lifers and counselors to come within 50 meters of an abortion facility for any activism-related purposes.
Under the harsh law, first-time violators face a $5,000 fine and up to six months in prison.
Alberta Health Services, a government entity, said it has “no plans to make changes” to the law, the Western Standard reported.
LifeSiteNews received information from a source within the ruling United Conservative Party (UCP) confirming that many MLAs and party members have been hoping the province’s “bubble zone” law would be repealed.
Pro-life Alberta and Campaign Life Coalition have advocated for Alberta to repeal its “bubble zone” law, but their calls have fallen on deaf ears despite the fact a Conservative government has been in charge in the province since 2019.
According to pro-life Alberta in a message sent to members, “Banning peaceful protests, demonstrations, or even quiet words of prayer, bubble zones are a chilling reminder that not all voices are welcome in the public square.”
“These zones don’t simply draw a line on a sidewalk; they draw a line through the heart of a free society, where the cost of voicing an opinion can be fines up to $5,000 or even jail time,” the group noted.
The group has called on Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to do more to protect innocent life in the province.
While many of the current UCP MLAs have solid records regarding life with pro-life views, including Alberta Health Minister Adriana LaGrange, Smith has a rather liberal approach on many social issues.
As previously reported by LifeSiteNews, many of Smith’s views, including those surrounding gay “marriage” and public funding for abortion, remain at odds with traditional conservative values, a fact that has made her a target of the province’s largest pro-life organization. However, she did say last year that she is in favor of adoption over abortion.
While Smith’s views on abortion are muddled, she has taken a pro-freedom approach to COVID, even once saying that the “unvaccinated” were the “most discriminated against” group she has seen in her lifetime. Also, it appears for now at least she has allowed her MLAs with pro-life views to speak out.
Alberta’s largest city also has in place its own “bubble zone” law. In 2022, Calgary City Council passed a motion directing its managers to draft a bylaw that would severely limit the distribution of pro-life flyers to people’s homes in what’s described by a leading pro-life group as a direct attack on “pro-life speech.”
Other Canadian provinces such as Ontario and Manitoba have laws in place that ban protests outside places where abortions are performed.
In 2017, Ontario passed the misleadingly titled “Safe Access to Abortion Act” that barred pro-life activists from demonstrating or ministering within 50 meters (roughly 150 feet) of the property line of an abortion clinic.