By Tim Wheeler

WASHINGTON - Dr. James Pendergraft, a Florida abortion provider, drew cheers when he asked the thousands of protesters at the Emergency March for Women's Lives April 22 to join the fight to keep him out of prison on trumped up federal extortion and conspiracy charges.

"The attempt to jail me is a test case," Pendergraft, an African-American board-certified OB-GYN physician, told the World. "If they can put me in prison, it will send a message that it is open season for an attack on abortion providers and women's reproductive rights all across the country."

Pendergraft was convicted Feb. 1 in a clear act of reprisal for his lawsuit against the City of Ocala and Marion County, Florida. In that suit, he demanded compensation for the refusal of law enforcement authorities there to provide protection for his abortion clinics, violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act.

FACE is a federal statute, enacted in 1994 and signed by President Clinton, in response to the 1993 murder of Dr. David Gunn and, a year later, of Dr. Bayard Britton and his escort, Jim Barrett, outside a Pensacola, Fla. abortion clinic.

Pendergraft must wear a bullet-proof vest wherever he goes. He has been the target of many death threats by fanatics seeking to close down the five clinics he operates. In 1989, Pendergraft's Ocala clinic was burned to the ground. No one has been charged in the case. His clinics in Orlando are picketed by the violent anti-abortion extremists, "Operation Rescue."

The U.S. Justice Department has used wiretapped conversation and videotape recorded by the FBI and local Ocala law enforcement as part of the federal case against Pendergraft. On the tape, Pendergraft and his attorney reject a proposed $100,000 out-of-court settlement with Ocala and Marion County. Although this lawsuit was later dismissed, statements made on the tape about the settlement are being used out of context.

Pendergraft said the use of FBI wiretaps and secret videotapes to frame him is reminiscent of the tactics used against Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and other civil rights leaders.

"What they are trying to do to roll back women's rights now is exactly the same as what they did in attacking the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s," he said.

Pendergraft is facing as much as 30 years in prison and a huge fine, which is aimed at bankrupting his abortion clinics. His legal defense has already cost $250,000.

Petitions of support for Pendergraft can be sent to: Orlando Women's Center, Att: Right to Fight Defense Committee, 1103 Lucern Terrace, Orlando FL 32806.