Alabama clinic may seek damages in Illinois case

By JAY REEVES The Associated Press 04/20/98 3:13 PM Eastern

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) -- An Alabama women's clinic that was bombed in January, killing one person, may try to collect under a verdict returned Monday against abortion foes in an Illinois racketeering case.

Wendy Crew, a lawyer for the New Woman All Women clinic, called the judgment "delightful and thrilling."

"It's certainly something we will study immediately to determine whether it would apply here," she said. "We are probably in a much better position to take advantage of it than other clinics."

In Chicago, federal jurors ruled three national leaders of the anti-abortion movement committed acts of extortion against abortion clinics there and awarded nearly $86,000 in damages.

Other clinics can now seek damages under the class action racketeering suit if they can prove in court that they, too, were harmed by the defendants.

The lawsuit named as defendants two of the most militant anti-abortion groups, Operation Rescue and the Pro-Life Action League, as well as three of the league's top leaders, Joseph Scheidler, Timothy Murphy and Andrew Scholberg.

Operation Rescue has staged frequent protests at Birmingham clinics, but its Alabama leader publicly criticized the New Woman bombing. Ms. Crew said the Pro-Life Action League has not typically been active in Birmingham.

The director of Operation Rescue Alabama, David Lackey, did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment. He has said his organization was not involved in the bombing.

A bomb exploded outside the New Woman clinic on Jan. 29, killing an off-duty police officer working as a security guard and critically injuring a clinic nurse.

A North Carolina man, Eric Robert Rudolph, was charged in the explosion but remains a fugitive. Authorities are trying to determine whether he may be responsible for a series of bombings in Atlanta.

Officials have not publicly linked Rudolph with any anti-abortion group, but witnesses have said he may have attended a demonstration against abortion in Washington, D.C., shortly before the bombing.