HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Anti-abortion activists in Huntsville are unlikely to appeal a court ruling from last week rejecting their efforts to block operations of North Alabama's only abortion clinic, but they are now eyeing legislation to achieve the same goal.

The group's leader James Henderson, executive director the Christian Coalition of Alabama, said Friday an appeal is unlikely, but he will urge area legislators to support a measure that would require a minimum 2,000-foot buffer between an abortion clinic and a school - the same minimum distance that is applied to sex offenders and a school.

The protesters have focused on trying to stop the operation of the Alabama Women's Center at 4831 Sparkman Drive, which is located almost directly across from the former Ed White Middle School which is being remodeled as a magnet school site.

Madison County Circuit Judge Alan Mann ruled the plaintiffs in the case didn't have standing to bring the lawsuit. He found none of them were directly affected by the location of the clinic.

"With all due respect to Judge Alan Mann, we don't believe he used his judicial discretion for the sanctity of life," Henderson said. "We believe that we had ample standing to make the appeal with people in reasonable close proximity to the abortion clinic.

"We believe for him to dismiss our suit when we had only asked for a temporary injunction deprived us of the full trial that we expected to be scheduled in the near future. But, we are more motivated than ever to press on in standing for the unborn and their mothers."

Henderson said the school buffer zone effort has been encouraged by Gov. Robert Bentley's Chief Legal Advisor David Byrne Jr. Henderson suggested the measure could be applied retroactively, though it is unclear how that would work under U.S. law.

The governor's office responded to questions about Byrne's role by providing a copy of a letter Byrne sent Thursday to Henderson, who is a member of the Alabama Republican Party's executive committee.

Byrne's letter acknowledges he told Henderson in June that he would be "happy to assist" any legislators Henderson's group is "closely associated with" in pre-filing legislation for the 2015 session and he would help recruit potential sponsors. But the letter also notes the Governor's Legal Office can't do legal work for a private entity.

A spokeswoman for Bentley said Friday they haven't seen any proposed bill dealing with abortion clinics near schools, so it would be premature to comment on whether the governor would support such a measure.

Henderson said community members were disappointed there wasn't more public input in the zoning process of the clinic. He said addressing the clinic's existence through legislation allows for the public to be heard.

"If you look in terms of cost effectiveness, new legislation is a better way to go," he said. "There will be a lot of public input and I know it's something Republican legislators will support."

The Women's Center in Huntsville opened in October after being granted the same zoning variance as previous medical clinics in that location. The anti-abortion group's lawsuit argued the zoning was in error and the Women's Center should have to apply to be zoned as a surgical center.

Mann rejected the lawsuit's request for a temporary restraining order and granted the motion to dismiss the suit filed by attorneys for the City of Huntsville and the local zoning board. The judge found the zoning board acted in its normal capacity and the lawsuit raised issues unrelated to the board's actions.

The new clinic was established after heightened restrictions on Alabama abortion facilities led to the Alabama Women's Center for Reproductive Alternatives, located on Madison Street, surrendering its license at the end of June.

The clinic's owner Dalton Johnson said he purchased the clinic space on Sparkman Drive and upgraded it according to state code to meet the new requirements.

Johnson said the newest announced effort by Henderson to create a school buffer was "just crazy.

"I don't know how far they would get with that," Johnson said. "It just goes to how they don't want safe access here in Alabama. Nobody would know this is an abortion clinic if the protesters weren't out there."

"If he would go on home and stop protesting then it would not be an issue."

AL.com staff writer Steve Doyle contributed to this story.