NOW Fights Clinic Violence in Cases Before Supreme Court

December 7, 2005

After nearly 20 years of litigation and two trips to the Supreme Court to protect patients and clinics from organized violence, NOW returned to the high court for the third time on Nov. 30 to argue once more the groundbreaking cases Scheidler v. NOW and Operation Rescue v. NOW.

At question was whether a nationwide injunction issued in 1999-which has resulted in a dramatic reduction in violence at women's health clinics-will remain in place.

In the 1980s, NOW pursued a lawsuit against Joseph Scheidler, Randall Terry and other leaders of the self-described "pro-life mafia" who embarked on a massive, coordinated campaign to end abortion. These thugs resorted to arson, bombings, violent blockades, death threats and even murder in their quest to close every clinic in the country. With the injunction in place, the violent attacks finally began to subside.

"Without this injunction, the legal right to abortion could become meaningless in some parts of the country," said NOW President Kim Gandy. "If women are too terrified to walk into clinics and healthcare providers are too terrified to keep their doors open, then we will have already lost the fight for reproductive freedom. Roe v. Wade won't mean much if the clinics have been forced to close one by one."

NOW pursued this lawsuit under the Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act in order to reach the groups' kingpins who organized and incited the acts of terror, although they may not have personally lit the match or kicked the door in.

"This injunction has increased women's safety and helped protect the clinics," said Gandy. "The Supreme Court should recognize these concerted crimes for what they are — an organized campaign to put an end to women's constitutional right to abortion and to interfere with the operation of lawful businesses."

Another case argued the same day, Ayotte v. Planned Parenthood of Northern New England, could permit more barriers to abortion services without making an exception for women's health.

All three cases represent the crucial fight for women's reproductive freedom now being waged in the Supreme Court. "Women's access to abortion and other reproductive health care is at great risk," said Gandy. "Time and again, our fate is put in the hands of nine justices. With the decisions on these critical cases, the power and consequence of who sits on the Supreme Court will be demonstrated mightily."