Legislation designed to shut down Huntsville's abortion clinic was filed Tuesday in the Alabama House of Representatives.

Rep. Ed Henry, R-Hartselle, is sponsoring the legislation that would allow the Alabama Department of Public Health to not issue or refuse to renew a health center license to an abortion clinic or reproductive health center located within 2,000 feet of the property or campus of a public school.

James Henderson, the former leader of the Christian Coalition of Alabama, said his anti-abortion group drafted the legislation that Henry introduced with the purpose of shutting down the Huntsville clinic.

"What prompted the action is the abortion clinic in downtown Huntsville that was forced to close and then relocated across from a public school," he said.

"You have the spectacle of an abortion clinic across from a school," Henderson continued. "We were advised counsel that a good approach was to use the same standard of keeping sex offenders from public schools, which is 2,000 feet. That is what the bill is based on."

He said he expected the bill to stand up in court because it would only affect clinics when they went to obtain a license to operate.

ACLU of Alabama Executive Director Susan Watson said if the bill were to pass it would be subject to litigation.

"You can't pass a law taking away somebodies business just because you don't like it," she said. "It is yet again the legislators are proposing these bills that are going to cost the state of Alabama a whole lot of money."

Anti-abortion activists in Huntsville filed a lawsuit last year in an attempt to shut down Alabama Women's Center at 4831 Sparkman Drive in Huntsville - North Alabama's only abortion clinic -- which is located almost directly across from the former Ed White Middle School. The building is being renovated to house a magnet school.

Madison County Circuit Judge Alan Mann ruled that the plaintiff, the Christian Coalition of Alabama, didn't have standing to bring the lawsuit; they aren't directly affected by the location of the clinic.

Mia Raven, legislative affairs director of Alabama Reproductive Rights Advocates, said she isn't surprised to see the bill filed and is "always ready for their attacks, especially those that target Alabamian women and their reproductive healthcare.

"Instead of aspiring to further restrict women's reproductive rights, the Alabama Legislature should be working to address our looming budgetary shortfall, which bills like this will not fix," she said. "We remain as committed as ever to fight for women and their Constitutional right to make their own decisions about their healthcare along with maintaining unfettered access to reproductive services in Alabama."