After a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week giving protection to protesters from racketeering and extortion charges, some local protest groups are rejoicing at the decision.

The case dealt with anti-abortion demonstrators that were charged with blocking clinic entrances, attacking doctors, patients and clinic staff and destroying equipment. They were ordered to pay $258,000 in damages. In the decision, the Supreme Court ruled that protesters can't be prosecuted under federal racketeering and extortion laws for blocking doors and disrupting clinic operation.

The ruling in the Scheidler v. National Organization for Women case was 8-1 Wednesday.

Katie Morrissett, a member of the Lansing-based activist group Direct Action, said it sounds like a step in the right direction for all kinds of protesters.

"It's a good idea to allow people to express themselves through protest," the psychology sophomore said.

Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist said when protesters don't "obtain" property, they can't be punished under federal extortion laws.

For anti-abortion leader Joseph Scheidler, it's a victory for himself and those who were ordered to pay damages to abortion clinics and weren't allowed to interfere with businesses.

"Now we can go on protesting and counseling at the clinics, doing the things that we do," he said. "We'll have much more freedom."

But not everyone believes the ruling was the right decision.

The National Organization for Women are very unhappy with the ruling, membership Vice President Terry O'Neill said.

"My initial reaction was shock and dismay," she said. "It was very narrowly decided. All of the acts (the protesters) did to shut down abortion clinics was extortion."

O'Neill said she doesn't have any respect for protesters who "organized violent acts against clinics."

The case began in 1986, when the women's organization and two abortion clinics in Wisconsin and Delaware went to court claiming racketeering and extortion laws should protect businesses from violent protests that drive clients away.

O'Neill said "right wing extremists have viciously attacked patients, many of whom weren't even getting abortions."

The court said the protesters only were destroying property and weren't taking it for profit or personal use, and therefore, it doesn't fall under federal racketeering and extortion laws.

"They are using the case as a green light to do this," O'Neill said. "This lawsuit, to me, shows how perilously close we are to losing the women's right to choose abortion."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.