"The way of violence leads to bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. But the way of nonviolence leads to redemption and the creation of the beloved community" -Martin Luther King, Jr.
"You can try for 50 years to do it the nice way or you can do it next week the nasty way." -Joe Scheidler
A: The civil rights movement, led by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., emphasized peaceful protest. King always strongly advocated peaceful resistance. Even when protestors were being attacked and bombings were occurring, he asked his fellow protestors not to retaliate in kind.
Dr. King and his followers were met with organized force and violence, not only from local police departments employing water hoses and dogs, but also from violent groups, like the Ku Klux Klan, intent on preserving a segregated South.
The tactics used by Joe Scheidler and Operation Rescue are eerily similar to the campaigns of violence and intimidation used against the civil rights movement. Scheidler orchestrated the use of force and violence to prevent women from exercising their constitutional right to choose abortion. This type of action is not protected by the First Amendment. It was this orchestrated violence, not peaceful protest, that the NOW v. Scheidler case was intended to stop. Q: What's the purpose of the lawsuit?
A: To stop anti-abortion mobsters from orchestrating acts of fear, force and violence for the purpose of stopping women from exercising their constitutional right to choose abortion. To that end, NOW and the other plaintiffs obtained a nationwide injunction against such actions, as well as triple damages against the defendants.
Q: Is NOW trying to stop peaceful protest?
A: No. NOW has a long and proud history of peaceful protest and nonviolent disobedience, and we support every person's First Amendment right to protest peacefully, including the rights of those who are opposed to abortion. However, NOW does oppose violent acts and threats of violent acts, including destroying property and causing physical injuries to clinic staff and patients. Violent acts are not protected by the First Amendment.
The jury in the case found that 121 crimes involving acts or threats of unlawful force or violence were orchestrated by the Pro-Life Action Network ("PLAN"). Below are just a few examples of the violent incidents which occurred under PLAN's direction:
In Los Angeles, they beat a post-operative ovarian surgery patient over the head with their anti-abortion sign, knocking her unconscious and causing her to bleed from the sutures in her abdomen.
In Atlanta, they seized a clinic administrator by the throat, choking and bruising her.
In Pensacola, they assaulted a clinic staff member and volunteer by slamming them against the stairs, sending them to the hospital and leaving one with permanent injuries; meanwhile, they "trashed" the clinic, destroying medications and equipment.
Witness "Mrs. A" testified that aggressive demonstrators denied her access to a clinic in Kansas City. Volunteer escorts were so concerned about patients' access to the facility Mrs. A was going to that they arranged for a car to transport all the days' patients to their appointments in an attempt to simply get the patients into the building. In the car with Mrs. A were several other women -- including a fourteen year-old rape survivor trying to terminate the pregnancy caused by the rape. These patients were physically prevented from entering the clinic on three separate days without success. The shouting crowd blocking them out included Joe Scheidler. Observers outside the courtroom note that Dr. George Tiller, the doctor at this clinic, was later shot by Rachelle Shannon, acting under the "Justifiable Homicide" credo.
Witness Diane Strauss was the administrator at a clinic in Cherry Hill, New Jersey where the anti-abortion extremists blocked the front door with cars and trucks. In addition, demonstrators chained themselves to the undercarriages of the vehicles with kryptonite locks. Staff members and patients could not enter the building until police cut the protestors' locks and towed the vehicles away.
In short, Scheidler's group used whatever force was necessary to keep clinics closed and to make patients give up and turn away. Throughout their 14-year siege of clinics across the country, they "cased" clinics to "let them know that they [were] vulnerable." They also repeatedly threatened plaintiff clinics that if they did not stop performing abortions, they risked being targeted for PLAN's "blitzkrieg" tactics.
Q: Is NOW trying to stop peaceful protest?
A: No. NOW has a long and proud history of peaceful protest and nonviolent disobedience, and we support every person's First Amendment right to protest peacefully, including the rights of those who are opposed to abortion. However, NOW does oppose violent acts and threats of violent acts, including destroying property and causing physical injuries to clinic staff and patients. Violent acts are not protected by the First Amendment.
The jury in the case found that 121 crimes involving acts or threats of unlawful force or violence were orchestrated by the Pro-Life Action Network ("PLAN"). Below are just a few examples of the violent incidents which occurred under PLAN's direction:
In Los Angeles, they beat a post-operative ovarian surgery patient over the head with their anti-abortion sign, knocking her unconscious and causing her to bleed from the sutures in her abdomen.
In Atlanta, they seized a clinic administrator by the throat, choking and bruising her.
In Pensacola, they assaulted a clinic staff member and volunteer by slamming them against the stairs, sending them to the hospital and leaving one with permanent injuries; meanwhile, they "trashed" the clinic, destroying medications and equipment.
Witness "Mrs. A" testified that aggressive demonstrators denied her access to a clinic in Kansas City. Volunteer escorts were so concerned about patients' access to the facility Mrs. A was going to that they arranged for a car to transport all the days' patients to their appointments in an attempt to simply get the patients into the building. In the car with Mrs. A were several other women -- including a fourteen year-old rape survivor trying to terminate the pregnancy caused by the rape. These patients were physically prevented from entering the clinic on three separate days without success. The shouting crowd blocking them out included Joe Scheidler. Observers outside the courtroom note that Dr. George Tiller, the doctor at this clinic, was later shot by Rachelle Shannon, acting under the "Justifiable Homicide" credo.
Witness Diane Strauss was the administrator at a clinic in Cherry Hill, New Jersey where the anti-abortion extremists blocked the front door with cars and trucks. In addition, demonstrators chained themselves to the undercarriages of the vehicles with kryptonite locks. Staff members and patients could not enter the building until police cut the protestors' locks and towed the vehicles away.
In short, Scheidler's group used whatever force was necessary to keep clinics closed and to make patients give up and turn away. Throughout their 14-year siege of clinics across the country, they "cased" clinics to "let them know that they [were] vulnerable." They also repeatedly threatened plaintiff clinics that if they did not stop performing abortions, they risked being targeted for PLAN's "blitzkrieg" tactics.
What is the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act ("RICO")?
A: RICO imposes liability on those who actively operate a criminal enterprise, causing it to engage in illegal, "predicate," acts. Even if the operators of the enterprise keep their hands clean and avoid personal liability for the offenses they incite, under RICO, they will be liable for operating the enterprise through illegal conduct. [Fay Clayton, testimony before the House Judiciary committee, 7/17/98]. The RICO Act clearly requires a pattern of racketeering and at least two serious criminal acts involving force or violence. RICO allows for triple damages to be awarded if a group is found guilty, making it a powerful tool to fight anti-abortion extremists who engage in illegal forms of protest.
Can RICO be used against non-profit groups to bankrupt them and prevent protest?
A: No. RICO cannot be used against non-profit groups that engage in peaceful protest. RICO only imposes liability on those who orchestrate acts of violence. (see above two questions).
Q: Who are the named plaintiffs?
A: The National Organization for Women, Summit Women's Health Organization (Milwaukee) and Delaware Women's Health Organization.
A: Anti-abortion terrorists who created the Pro-Life Action Network as an enterprise that uses illegal means to deny women's rights to abortion -- including Joe Scheidler, the Pro-Life Action League, and Operation Rescue, among others.
Q: Why is the case brought in Chicago?
A: Joe Scheidler is in Chicago and by agreement of the parties, the case was transferred from Delaware.