[dc-zaps] Dec. 4: Rally Against Anti-Abortion Violence!

Join NOW Activists Outside the Supreme Court on Dec. 4 to Rally Against 
Anti-Abortion Violence!

On December 4, 2002, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments in NOW v. 
Scheidler, the case that won the first-ever nationwide injunction against 
anti-abortion violence. NOW activists and supporters will rally in front of 
the Supreme Court. Please join us to show your opposition to the violent 
tactics employed by anti-abortion groups and to express your support for 
NOW and non-violent free speech.

Date: December 4, 2002

Time: 8:30 AM

Place: U.S. Supreme Court, 1 First Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. (one 
block from Constitution Ave. and First St. NE and three blocks uphill from 
the Capitol South Metro stop on the blue and orange lines)

NOW and abortion providers filed the suit to protect health care workers 
and women entering abortion clinics from violence coordinated and approved 
by the Pro-Life Action Network, its leader Joe Scheidler, Operation Rescue 
and others. The Court will review the district court's issuance of an 
injunction forbidding Scheidler and the other defendants from further 
violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).

Despite a deluge of inaccurate news reports and false claims by the 
defendants, NOW v. Scheidler is only about whether courts are permitted to 
prohibit violence and in no way seeks to limit peaceful protest on any 
issue. This lawsuit is about the coordinated use of fear, force and 
violence aimed at the clinics and the women who use them. It is not about 
lawful speech, which is why the Supreme Court declined to hear the First 
Amendment issue raised by Scheidler. Violence is not free speech, as the 
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals noted in its October 2001 decision.

For more information about NOW v. Scheidler, visit NOW's website:
http://www.nowfoundation.org/reproduc/scheidler.html

You can also listen to a taped broadcast of NOW President Kim Gandy 
discussing the NOW v. Scheidler case on the NPR show "Justice Talking":
http://www.justicetalking.org/getshow.asp?showid=233