MONTREAL (LifeSiteNews) — Quebec Superior Court ruled that abortion facility “bubble zones” are unconstitutional but “justified.”
In a July 28 ruling, Quebec Superior Court Justice Lysane Cree dismissed an appeal from Campaign Quebec-Vie (CQV) and upheld “bubble zone” laws that prevent pro-life advocacy within 50 meters of abortions facilities.
“The Court concludes that section 16.1 of the Act infringes CQV’s rights to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly, but that this infringement is minimal and justified,” Cree wrote.
Currently, the Quebec law prevents pro-life advocacy within a 50-meter radius of any facility or premises of an abortion business. Forbidden activity includes discouraging a woman from having an abortion or offering alternative resources to help her keep her baby.
According to the ruling, CQV, also known as Quebec Life Coalition in English, said that “their messages are of paramount importance, intimately linked to the life and death of a human being.”
However, Cree ruled that the trampling of their Charter rights was necessary to ensure that women are not discouraged from obtaining an abortion.
“Evidence shows that a buffer zone is necessary around clinics to ensure privacy in a medical setting and the safety of all those who work or receive care,” she claimed.
“The risks associated with not having a buffer zone outside clinics have been amply demonstrated,” Cree continued, not explaining how a mother deciding to keep her baby poses a risk.
CQV condemned the decision in a press release, saying, “The recent decision by the Superior Court upholding the legality of ‘buffer zones’ around abortion clinics in Quebec is deeply disappointing, though not surprising. Sadly, it confirms a growing trend toward progressive illiberalism observable throughout Canada.”
Campaign Life Coalition’s Pete Baklinski responded to the news on X, saying, “This ruling doesn’t just suppress pro-life speech, it reveals that abortion is the sacred cow of our legal culture.”
“Christian speech is being pushed to the margins, 50 metres at a time,” he continued. “This isn’t about safety. It’s about shielding abortion from conscience. We’ll keep standing for the voiceless.”
In Canada, pro-life advocacy has become increasingly censored thanks to “bubble zones” across the country.
🚫 Free speech loses in Quebec
A Quebec judge ruled that peaceful, faith-based pro-life outreach within 50m of abortion clinics is unconstitutional—but justified.
➡️ CQV’s sidewalk counselling? Protected by the Charter
➡️ But “not worth the risk” to abortion access
➡️ The court… pic.twitter.com/92jGhSQmCN— Pro-life Canadian Man (@PeteBaklinski) July 30, 2025
In February, Manitoba enacted “buffer zones” around abortion facilities to restrict pro-life advocacy. Similar laws have been put in place in the provinces of British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and Nova Scotia.
In 2017, Ontario passed the misleadingly titled “Safe Access to Abortion Act” that also barred pro-life activists from demonstrating or ministering within 50 meters (roughly 150 feet) of the property line of an abortion business.
In 2018, Alberta passed a similar province-wide “bubble zone” law that came into force under then-Premier Rachel Notley of the NDP. The law makes it illegal for pro-lifers and counselors to come within 50 meters of an abortion facility for any activism-related purposes.
