After the National Organization for Women's April 20 victory in NOW v. Scheidler , some columnists and legal analysts criticized the jury's verdict.
Legitimate protesters use peaceful means to convey their message.
The jury unanimously found Joe Scheidler, Operation Rescue, and their enterprise, the Pro-Life Action Network, responsible for over 120 criminal acts, including extortion and physical violence. In this class-action suit brought by NOW and the Delaware and Summit Women's Health Clinics, dozens of patients and staff from clinics across the country described the impact of the defendants' actions on their lives. A California woman described the mob that prevented her from reaching her doctor for a post-operative appointment. A cancer survivor who'd had surgery to try to preserve her reproductive organs, she was hit on the head with an Operation Rescue sign, her sutures ruptured during the assault, and she fainted in the parking lot. She was not allowed to tell the jury about her year-long nightmares.