In Chicago, U.S. District Judge David Coar ruled in favor of NOW on several motions in the class action lawsuit NOW v. Scheidler, brought under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

"In this decision, the court has said that Randall Terry and his co-conspirators will be held responsible for all the acts of terrorism and violence Pro-Life Action Network has orchestrated in their war to deny women our constitutional right to abortion," said NOW President Patricia Ireland. "After a decade of their legal manipulations and procrastination, we look forward to a jury trial."

Judge Coar's ruling affects several key areas of the lawsuit; his opinion:

• Finds that plaintiffs' evidence of racketeering activity against Randall Terry and Operation Rescue is more than sufficient to proceed to trial. This ruling confirms that the plaintiffs have provided a "plethora of evidence" that defendants forced the "closing of clinics through the use of fear."

• Finds overwhelming evidence that Terry and co-defendant Operation Rescue played an active role in the Pro-Life Action Network. As members of PLAN, both Terry and Operation Rescue are subject to the lawsuit and could be assessed triple damages if found liable under RICO.

• Dismisses most of defendants Randall Terry and Joseph Scheidler's affirmative defenses. Terry and Scheidler challenged the constitutionality of the RICO statute and claimed the necessity defense -- i.e. that they had to violate the law to stop abortion.

Link to this release at http://www.now.org/press/09-97/09-23-97.html