TcMedicine

District Judge Issues Final Judgment In 2006 Supreme Court Ruling That Abortion Clinics Cannot Block Protesters Under Racketeering Law

U.S. District Judge David Coar on Tuesday issued a final judgment reiterating a February 2006 Supreme Court ruling that abortion clinics cannot use federal extortion and racketeering laws to block antiabortion protests, the Chicago Tribune reports (Chicago Tribune, 5/8). The case — Scheidler v. The National Organization for Women — stems from a lawsuit filed in 1986 by the National Organization for Women and other women’s rights groups against several individuals and groups that oppose abortion rights, including Operation Rescue/Operation Save America and the Pro-Life Action League, alleging the abortion-rights opponents used aggressive and illegal means to protest against and attempt to close abortion clinics.

In 1994, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of NOW, saying that women’s rights groups and abortion clinics could sue antiabortion protesters under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act even if the advocates did not have an economic motive for their protests. The Supreme Court in February 2003 reversed its previous decision, ruling that the RICO Act could not be applied because the protesters’ actions did not qualify as extortion or racketeering.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago renewed the case in 2004 when it did not dismiss the lawsuit on different grounds, saying threats of violence and violent acts might have qualified NOW to sue antiabortion protesters under RICO. Joseph Scheidler, national director of the Pro-Life Action League, appealed the case to the Supreme Court, saying the appeals court misread the Supreme Court’s 2003 opinion and that the entire case should have been thrown out. The Supreme Court in February 2006 upheld its 2003 ruling (Kaiser Daily Women’s Health Policy Report, 3/1/06).

Ruling, Reaction
Coar’s ruling also lifted injunctions for the Pro-Life Action League and Operation Rescue, as well as for defendants Andrew Scholberg and Timothy Murphy. Fay Clayton, an attorney for NOW, said injunctions are not as necessary now as when the case was first filed because the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act prohibits interfering with women’s access to clinics. Scheidler in a statement said he was satisfied that his right to free speech was upheld (Chicago Tribune, 5/8). He added the Pro-Life Action League is “very happy” the case is finished (Hawkins, AP/Chicago Sun-Times, 5/8).

“Reprinted with permission from http://www.kaisernetwork.org. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives, or sign up for email delivery at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/dailyreports/healthpolicy. The Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report is published for kaisernetwork.org, a free service of The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation . © 2005 Advisory Board Company and Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.