It is understandable that doctors may feel uneasy about having their names on the page, especially in light of the killings that have recently occurred, but there is no demand on the Web site that those listed there be harmed in any way. To illegally incite violence, the speaker has to call for it, and the violent act has to be imminent. The Nuremberg Web site clearly doesn't meet this criteria. The suit has broad implications for issue activists. In the past, extreme elements in the environmental, anti-war and labor movements have sometimes resorted to violence to promote their cause, but that doesn't mean the people in the rest of the movement, those engaging in purely rhetorical activism, should be obliged to temper their remarks.
Abortion is the most combustible issue of our day.
All the Nuremberg site does is reflect this roil. And if this country is still committed to free speech, the courts won't force it to turn down the heat. Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.