by Charles S. Clark

About the author: Charles S. Clark is a staff writer for the CQ Researcher.

In the predawn darkness of June 4, 1994, three men and two women methodically set about creating havoc at a Milwaukee abortion clinic. Using an elaborate construction of chains, concrete blocks and iron pipes, they secured themselves to two cars blocking the clinic entrance. Inside one of the cars, three protesters had removed the floorboards and were sitting on the pavement so the car could not be dragged away. Their arms were encased in pipes set in concrete blocks. The other two protesters were chained to the outside of the other car and to a concrete-filled drum.

Two dozen firefighters worked for four hours to extricate the protesters, using metal cutters and jackhammers. But the protest had the desired effect: The...