Windsor Regional Hospital has released a statement saying it might apply for permission to keep anti-abortion protesters 150 metres from its front doors.
The group 40 Days of Life has announced its intention to hold protests in front of the hospital from March 6 to April 17, and two Windsor woman have launched a petition calling on the hospital to keep the protests away from women seeking treatment.
Under the Safe Access to Abortion Act, protesters must respect a 50-metre access zone from the property line of any clinic providing therapeutic abortion. However, hospitals and other facilities that offer the treatment must apply for so-called "bubble zone".
"One needs to be aware that applying for this access zone under the legislation will not take effect immediately, and will need approval by the attorney general of Ontario and Ministry of Health," read the statement. "We have been informed no hospitals who have applied for a 150-metre access zone have been approved anywhere in the province, as of today."
If the hospital receives approval, no one within the access zone will be allowed to "advise or persuade, or attempt to advise or persuade, a person to refrain from accessing abortion services."
The hospital said there have been protests from anti-abortion groups on the public sidewalk along Tecumseh Road East. The sidewalk marks 100 metres from the front entrance at the Met Campus. Occasionally, groups have also walked along the sidewalks around the hospital.
The hospital's board of directors said its chair and CEO, David Musyj, will contact the office of the Attorney General of Ontario to find out what it needs to do to apply for a safe zone.
In the meantime, the status quo will be maintained.