Randall Allen Terry born on April 25, [ 1 ] is an American politician and activist. Terry founded the anti-abortion organization Operation Rescue. Beginning in , the group became particularly prominent for blockading the entrances to abortion clinics ; Terry led the group until He has been arrested more than 40 times, [ 2 ] including for violating a no-trespass order from the University of Notre Dame to protest against a visit by President Barack Obama. Both times, he lost in the Republican primary.
Terry ran in the Democratic Party presidential primaries. He was the Constitution Party nominee for president of the United States in the presidential election , and his running mate was Stephen Broden. In , Terry was arrested for the first time for chaining himself to a sink at an abortion clinic. Terry was frequently in the news because of his activities as the leader of Operation Rescue. Scheidler , a class-action suit to compel anti-abortion leaders to compensate clinics for loss of business.
Terry settled out of court with the National Organization for Women. Rather than pay the settlement, Terry promptly filed for bankruptcy, prompting Senator Charles Schumer to propose an amendment to a bankruptcy bill in Congress which would "specifically In , NOW obtained more than 25, "frequent flyer miles" which were held by Terry in order to help satisfy a legal judgment. In , Terry helped to organize protests outside the hospital where Nancy Cruzan was a patient, around the time when her feeding tube was removed.
The group Missouri Citizens for Life was also involved in the protests, along with the Rev. Patrick Mahoney, a former Operation Rescue staffer. He was also involved in protests which were related to the Terri Schiavo case. In , Terry was a named defendant in Madsen v. Women's Health Center Inc.
Terry competed with radio station owner William "Bud" Walker for the Republican nomination to face Democratic incumbent Maurice Hinchey. Terry received the endorsement of Focus on the Family head James Dobson ; however, national and state Republicans were not supportive of Terry's candidacy. King , citing King's attempt to block legislation which would have kept Terri Schiavo alive. In August , in an attempt to undermine King's support in a Republican primary the next month, Terry publicized an endorsement of King by "Bill Clinton" β actually, robo-calls by a professional impersonator of former president Bill Clinton.
