Scheidler undeterred by RICO verdict

By Mike Mastromatteo

U.S. pro-lifer Joe Scheidler remains as committed as ever to saving the lives of unborn children in the wake a serious setback in a Chicago courtroom. 

A federal jury April 20 found Scheidler and two other pro-life activists guilty of extortion in a 12-year-old case involving federal racketeering laws. The case, which was initiated by the National Organization for Women (NOW), made use of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations law (RICO), to silence peaceful protest outside abortion clinics in the U.S. 

Scheidler, director of the Chicago-based Pro-Life Action League, and activists Timothy Murphy and Andrew Scholberg, each face fines of more than $85,000.  The penalties represent damages suffered by abortion clinics in Milwaukee and Wilmington, Delaware. 

Total fines could be tripled under the RICO act. 

The law was originally enacted in 1970 to combat organized crime in the U.S. However, pro-abortion supporters, aided by sympathetic court rulings since 1986, have turned the law squarely against pro-life efforts. 

Pro-abortion groups argued that sidewalk counselling, prayer vigils and other public activity in defence of unborn children constitute a “conspiracy” to abortion clinics out of business. 

The National Organization for Women successfully argued that pro-life activity, including the highly publicized Operation Rescues in the 1980s, were part of a nation-wide plan to bomb abortion clinics and intimidate abortionists, clinic staff and patients. 

Pro-lifers are concerned that the guilty verdict could open the door to hundreds of abortion clinics seeking damages from pro-life activists. 

In a statement released April 20, Scheidler said the guilty verdict was not unexpected. He said the plaintiff’s case was “full of lies and misstatements,” adding that “it was nearly impossible to sift through it all to discern the truth.” 

Scheidler also announced plans to appeal the verdict to a higher court. Defence lawyers are now preparing post-trial motions. 

In the meantime, Scheidler intends to maintain his high-profile pro-life work. “We have no intention of backing off from our live-saving efforts,” he said. “With the trial behind us, we will turn our attention back to carrying on our pro-life mission.” 

Defence attorney Tim Brejcha criticized the use of the RICO act to stifle pro-life protest. “RICO is terribly flawed, fatally vague and overbroad,” he said in a statement. “Combined with use of federal or state extortion statutes against those who would engage in peaceful, non-violent civil disobedience, RICO tramples the First Amendment.” 

Pro-lifers monitoring the extended case are concerned over the long-term implications of the verdict. It is anticipated that other abortion clinics throughout the U.S. can now seek damages under a class action suit if it can be shown that pro-life activities hindered their business operations. 

Some pro-life observers believe the guilty verdict was a foregone conclusion. In his instructions to jurors, District Court Judge David Coar said defendants should be found guilty under the RICO law if they acted as partners in an organized effort to threaten and harass abortion clinic operation. 

Ironically, one of the chief framers of the RICO legislation suggested the verdict is inappropriate. G. Robert Blakey, a law professor at Notre Dame University, said the act was designed to thwart organized crime and drug cartels. 

“This case is a nightmare for anyone who wants to picket,” Blakey told the Associated Press. He said pro-life organizations, which do not profit financially from the public witnessing against abortion, should never be subject to anti-racketeer legislation. 

Leads to violence? 

Pro-life voices from throughout the world have rushed to denounced the Scheidler verdict. Jim Hughes, national president of Campaign Life Coalition, said from Toronto that a guilty verdict was practically predetermined. He said the decision is more evidence of free speech being denied pro-lifers. Hughes said the decision reminds him of former U.S. President John Kennedy’s observation “those who make peaceful protest impossible, will make violence inevitable.” 

Father Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life International, said from Rome that the Scheidler decision demands continued vigilance from the pro-life community. 

“The verdict in the NOW vs. Scheidler case is so unjust that I consider it my duty to call for a sustained, public resistance to this decision,” Pavone said. 

Scheidler’s own spiritual leader, Cardinal Francis George of the Chicago Roman Catholic archdiocese, said the verdict will have a chilling effect on freedoms of speech and religion in the U.S. 

“If the courts had been used by defence attorneys to stop organized sit-ins at lunch counters in the South in the 1960s, there would have been no civil rights movement,” George said. 

Meanwhile, Scheidler told the Associated Press April 21 that the Pro-Life Action League and other groups affected by the verdict will likely be unable to pay any heavy fines. “A million dollars, a billion dollars, the national debt - they won’t get it,” Scheidler said. “You can’t get blood from a turnip and we’re turnips.” 

Several abortion clinic operators however, seem eager to launch class action suits which could effectively bankrupt the American pro-life movement.