The Pro-Life Action League is an American anti-abortion organization founded by Joseph M. Scheidler in Chicago in 1980. The organization's sole mission is to end abortion. Joe Scheidler was the executive director of the organization until 2015, when his son Eric took over. Joe’s wife Ann is the current president.^[1]

The Pro-Life Action League was prominently involved in the Scheidler v. NOW2006 Supreme Court decision.^[2]

The group conducts protests and prayer vigils at abortion clinics. It unsuccessfully campaigned to stop an AuroraPlanned Parenthood clinic from opening in September 2007.^[3]

In 1986, the National Organization for Women (NOW) filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court against various anti-abortion groups and individuals including the Pro-Life Action Network (PLAN) and Scheidler. The suit was filed under the claim that Scheidler and the other defendants had violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) through a conspiracy to prevent women from accessing abortion services through the threat of violence or the implied threat of violence.^[4] The district court dismissed the case on the grounds that an organization without an economic motive (such as PLAN, a non-profit organization) could not be considered a "racketeering enterprise" under RICO.

The case was then brought to the Court of Appeals where it was determined that a non-profit organization could be considered a racketeering enterprise. This was confirmed by the Supreme Court in 1994, in a 9–0 vote in favor of NOW. This allowed the original case to move forward.^[5] The decision did not make any statements about whether or not Scheidler and PLAN were guilty of the racketeering allegations, it stated that they could be tried under RICO.^[4]

A trial began in 1998 to determine whether the allegations against Scheidler and PLAN were true and if they were violations of RICO and the Hobbs Act (this was added as a predicate). It was the role of NOW to prove that there had been a national effort by PLAN to prevent women from accessing abortion clinics through violence or the threat thereof. After NOW's testimonies, the jury decided unanimously that PLAN was guilty. The court awarded monetary compensation to NOW, and also ruled that PLAN was forbidden to interfere with NOW's right to provide abortion services.^[4]

PLAN ยื่นอุทธรณ์ต่อศาลอุทธรณ์เขตที่เจ็ดโดยอ้างว่าพวกเขาไม่ได้ละเมิดพระราชบัญญัติ Hobbs พระราชบัญญัติดังกล่าวระบุอย่างชัดเจนว่าการกรรโชกทรัพย์คือการได้มาซึ่งทรัพย์สิน และ PLAN โต้แย้งว่าพวกเขาไม่ได้ยึดทรัพย์สินใดๆ จาก NOW เลย ข้ออ้างนี้ถูกปฏิเสธ และ PLAN ยื่นอุทธรณ์ต่อศาลฎีกา ศาลลงมติเป็นเอกฉันท์ 8-0 ให้ Scheidler และ PLAN ชนะคดี โดยตัดสินว่า PLAN แม้จะยึดทรัพย์สินจากคลินิกทำแท้ง แต่ก็ไม่ได้ได้มาซึ่งทรัพย์สินใดๆ จริงๆ ซึ่งหมายความว่า PLAN ไม่ได้กระทำการกรรโชกทรัพย์ภายใต้พระราชบัญญัติ Hobbs ^{[ 4 ]}

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