- SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters)
- A federal appeals court on Thursday reversed a key ruling in the U.S.
debate over abortion, saying that activist posters branding individual
abortion providers as "baby butchers" could be considered true
threats and thus were not protected free speech.
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- In a 6 to 5 vote, a sharply divided 9th Circuit Court
of Appeals overturned its own prior ruling in the case and said it had
concluded that the "Wanted" style posters put up by the American
Coalition of Life Activists (ACLA) could be construed as "a serious
threat of death or bodily harm" against doctors named on the posters.
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- The case, closely watched by both sides of the U.S. abortion
debate, involved charges from Planned Parenthood that the ACLA and several
individuals allied with it were advocating "justifiable homicide"
of abortion providing-doctors, several of whom were subsequently killed
or wounded.
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- "There is substantial evidence that these posters
were prepared and disseminated to intimidate physicians from providing
reproductive health services," the 9th Circuit's majority opinion
said. "Thus, ACLA was appropriately found liable for a true threat
to intimidate."
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- The court's decision, which followed a full court hearing
of the case, overturned an earlier ruling by a three judge panel from the
same court which found that the ACLA was not specifically urging activists
to take physical action against the doctors and was exercising free speech.
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- That decision overturned a lower court ruling which had
awarded a $109 million judgement against the ACLA. On Thursday, the full
9th Circuit said it was asking the lower court to determine whether the
amount of punitive damages should be reduced.
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- The case involved lists of abortion providers with titles
such as the "Deadly Dozen" and the "Nuremberg Files"
which appeared on posters and on the Internet. The anti-abortion activists
identified individual doctors as "baby butchers" and urged activists
to block them from performing more abortions "through activities within
ACLA guidelines."
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- In response, the doctors named on the list took to wearing
bulletproof vests, living behind drawn curtains and under the protection
of U.S. marshals.
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- The plaintiffs, led by Planned Parenthood, took the anti-abortion
activists to court, charging them with violating federal racketeering laws
and the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act passed after the 1993
murder of one Florida abortion provider.
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- Overall there were five murders, nine attempted murders,
five bombings and 30 cases of arson at abortion clinics from 1992 to 1994,
according to Planned Parenthood.
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