Bishops' Aide Praises Court Ruling in Favor of Pro-Life Protesters

"The pro-abortion movement has been very successful in using the courts to make changes in the law," said Cathy Cleaver, a spokeswoman for the Pro-Life Secretariat of the bishops' conference. "Thankfully, this time the Supreme Court refused NOW's strategy to redefine pro-life protesters as extortionists."

In its decision in the case Scheidler v. National Organization for Women, the nation's highest court sharply curtailed the use of federal racketeering and extortion laws as legal tools against pro-life protesters at abortion clinics.

"Maintaining the distinction between protest and extortion is a small but meaningful legal victory for the pro-life cause," said Cleaver. "The National Organization for Women has done more harm for women than good by promoting abortion as a requirement for women's participation in society."