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Scheidler
and Operation Rescue v. National Organization for Women
This case presents
important First Amendment issues concerning the rights of
abortion protesters. In October 2001, the Court of Appeals
for the Seventh Circuit ruled that a federal criminal conspiracy
law, RICO, could be applied to pro-life protesters. RICO was
designed for drug dealers and organized crime, yet the Seventh
Circuit misapplied it and turned it against pro-life groups.
The court held that under RICO, several pro-life groups engaged
in a nationwide conspiracy to shut down the abortion industry,
and held the groups liable for "extortion" and "racketeering."
The court sustained a massive damages award to abortion groups,
and upheld a nationwide injunction issued against the pro-life
groups. The court failed to recognize that equating a pro-life
protest with criminal extortion and racketeering is a serious
assault on the First Amendment rights of every social protest
group. The Supreme Court will hear oral argument in this landmark
case in the Fall of 2002.
Read
the Supreme Court Opinion
Read
the ACLJ Brief for Petitioners
(PDF)
ACLJ's
Petition to the Supreme Court in Defense of Prolife Protesters
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