Back to The Barricades

NO GROUP HAS VEXED THE PRO-CHOICE MOVEMENT as much as Operation Rescue, which has staged passionate demonstrations in front of abortion clinics and tried to block those entering. Faced with local officials who deemed such protests legal, abortion-rights advocates turned to the federal courts. There a number of judges were willing to restrain Operation Rescue through an 1871 federal civil rights law originally designed for use against the Ku Klux Klan. Women seeking abortions, the judges ruled, deserved the same protected status as blacks.

By a 6-to-3 vote, the Supreme Court last week rejected that argument. The decision will result in more activism by Operation Rescue. "God be praised," said leader Randall Terry. "The most potent weapon the child killers had against us was the illegal use of the federal judiciary." Pro-choice Representative Charles Schumer and Senator Edward Kennedy immediately proposed bills making it a federal crime to block abortion clinics.