The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments in an appeal by anti-abortion extremists to overturn the 1999 verdict in Planned Parenthood of Columbia/Willamette v. American Coalition of Life Activists et al (ACLA). This is the Oregon case where doctors and clinics proved the ACLA’s “Deadly Dozen” and “WANTED” posters as well as the “Nuremberg Files” website were a “true threat” to abortion providers. These leaflets, posters and website listings provided detailed information on doctors and abortion clinics, offered rewards for preventing abortions, identified abortion providers as “baby butchers” and war criminals and highlighted the names of doctors who had been injured or murdered in recent years. Due to the specific nature of the threats and the fact that it was occurring during a time of increased violence against abortion providers, the “Nuremberg Files” was taken off the Internet and defendants were ordered to pay $107.5 million in damages to the group of abortion providers who were victims of the threats. To date, none of the money has been paid and six of the defendants have filed for bankruptcy in efforts to escape paying.
Uncategorized
