Washington, D.C. – Today, the United States Supreme Court unanimously sided with abortion protestors and ended a 19-year legal battle waged against the protestors by the National Organization for Women (NOW). The case of Scheidler v. NOW was brought by NOW against several pro-life protestors, claiming that the protest activities of several pro-life individuals and groups were in violation of RICO and the Hobbs Act.

In order for RICO to apply, there must first be a violation of one of the laws listed within RICO. One such law that abortion advocates have relied upon is the federal law known as the Hobbs Act. The Hobbs Act prohibits extortion, which is defined as the improper obtaining of property from another. Abortion advocates argued that pro-life protestors committed “extortion” by picketing their clinics.

Today’s decision is the third decision by the United States Supreme Court in this case. In 1994, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the district court for further proceedings to determine whether RICO was violated by the protest activities. After a trial that awarded treble (triple) damages against the abortion protestors, the case made its way back to the Supreme Court in 2003. The Supreme Court’s decision focused on the fact that the protestors did not commit extortion because they did not seek to “obtain” property from the abortion clinics, as required by the definition of the term extortion. The Court sent the case back to the court of appeals, which determined that threats of physical violence could constitute a violation of the Hobbs Act, thus forming the basis for a RICO lawsuit against the protestors. RICO has been used to impose fines against some pro-life protestors in excess of $100,000,000.

The Supreme Court decided today that physical violence or threats of physical violence unrelated to robbery or extortion fall outside the scope of the Hobbs Act, and thus the protestors’ actions could not be considered violations of the Hobbs Act, and therefore did not violate RICO. The Court ordered for judgment to be entered in favor of the abortion protestors.

Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, commented: “RICO can no longer hang like Damocles’ sword over the head of pro-lifers. Abortion advocates were willing to sacrifice the First Amendment for everyone in order to advance their agenda. Today’s decision by the Supreme Court is a victory, not just for pro-lifers, but for all Americans who value their right to protest and speak out on issues important to them. This recent victory is another event that will fuel the engines of the pro-life movement to once again stand up for the unborn.”