Since May, eighteen abortion clinics in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida have been attacked with butyric acid, a foul-smelling chemical that can cause respiratory damage. "Clearly these attacks are an orchestrated campaign of violence that is spreading across three states," said Kathy Spillar, national coordinator of the Feminist Majority Foundation.

Four clinics in New Orleans, four clinics in Houston, and ten clinics in Florida were attacked with butyric acid. Immediately after the Florida clinics suffered attacks of butyric acid in May, a six-member Feminist Majority Foundation Emergency Response Team traveled to Florida to help clinics stay open. All of the Florida attacks were committed just before Operation Rescue's eight-day "Operation Pushback" campaign, which started May 31 and targeted abortion clinics in the Orlando area for anti-abortion protests. Operation Rescue has denied involvement in the ten recent clinic attacks.

Feminist Majority Foundation staff conducted security assessments for several clinics, focussing on those in central Florida most likely to be hit. They monitored the extremists and worked with community volunteers, particularly the local NOW chapters, as well as with clinic administrators and law enforcement, to protect the clinics.

"Law enforcement took these attacks and the Operation Rescue campaign very seriously," said Alice Cohan, National Programs Administrator of the Feminist Majority Foundation and leader of the Emergency Response Team. "The City of Orlando had obtained an unjunction that limited Operation Rescue's access to the clinics. Police were present at every clinic."

The local FBI agents and U.S. Marshalls were present to observe and to enforce the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act, the federal law that prohibits using force, the threat of force, or physical obstruction directed at women seeking reproductive health care services or at reproductive health care workers.

The effort to keep the clinics open was so successful that one clinic opened a new, larger facility while Operation Rescue was in town. Operation Rescue protesters left the Central Florida Women's Health Clinic at 1:30; moving vans arrived at 2:30. The clinic opened for business the next day and began abortion procedures the day after. "In the midst of Operation Rescue claims that they were going to close down clinics, our clinic opened a larger facility to provide even better services to women," said Susan Hill, president of the National Women's Health Organization which owns the Central Florida Women's Health Clinic.

Just weeks before the attacks, a fictional account appeared on an anti-abortion extremists website entitled "Army of God Rescue Platoon" that described the bombing of a central Florida abortion clinic on June 15, 1998. This fantasy bombing touches off a series of events that ultimately culminates in the destruction of every abortion clinic in Florida to avenge for the death sentence of Paul Hill (the convicted murdered of Dr. John Bayard Britton and volunteer escort James Barrett).

Some speculate that the Florida butyric acid attacks might be in retaliation for Florida Governor Lawton Chiles vetoeing a request for a new anti-abortion license plate. The proposed plate featured the faces of two children and read ''choose life.'' An anti-abortion, pro-adoption group called Choose Life Inc. collected 10,000 signatures and paid $30,000 in an attempt to gain legislative approval of the new license tag. Proceeds from the sale of the license tags, which would have been priced $20 higher than standard plates, were to be distributed to organizations that promote adoption. Gov. Chiles noted in his veto message that organizations that provide abortion services or counseling in addition to adoption services would have been unfairly excluded as recipients.

Violent anti-abortion extremists targeted two Fayetteville, North Carolina abortion clinics in early October, a month after both clinics were damaged by arson. Bombs were found at the Carolina Women's Clinic and the Hallmark Clinic. The bombs, made up of sticks of dynamite taped together, were discovered before they went off. A spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms said they could have caused serious injury.

In a related issue, the FBI has offered up to a million dollar reward to anyone who has information leading to the arrest of Eric Robert Rudolph, who is accused of planting the bomb outside the New Woman All Woman Health Center in Birmingham, Alabama in January. The bomb was the first fatal bombing at an abortion clinic, killing police officer Robert Sanderson and severely injuring nurse Emily Lyons.