FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: MIRA WEINSTEIN, 202-331-0066 x705

WEEKS BEFORE ROE V. WADE 25TH ANNIVERSARY, NOW ANNOUNCES VICTORY AGAINST RANDALL TERRY IN "STOP THE RESCUE RACKET CAMPAIGN"

January 8, 1998

Who:

• Patricia Ireland, NOW Foundation
• President Fay Clayton, lead attorney for the class action plaintiffs

What:

Partial victory in NOW v. Scheidler, the case whose innovative use of the federal racketeering law won unanimous approval from the U.S. Supreme Court in 1994.

Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue and one of the defendants in NOW v. Scheidler has folded his tent and agreed to the issuance of a permanent injunction against him. The settlement received preliminary approval from Federal District Court Judge David Coar on Wednesday, January 7.

"This injunction will remove the godfather of the ‘Rescue Racket' from the streets," said NOW Foundation President Patricia Ireland. NOW Foundation's use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations statute in this case is a landmark application of the law.

Plaintiff NOW represents its own members and was certified as the class representative of all non-member women "whose rights to the services of women's health centers in the United States at which abortions are performed have been or will be interfered with by defendants' unlawful activities," according to the March 1997 order certifying the class. Ireland and lead plaintiffs' attorney Fay Clayton are available to discuss terms of the settlement, which include significant financial penalties if Terry violates the order and engages in the prohibited activities.

• Link to this release at http://www.now.org/press/01-98/01-08-98.html