Cite as: 506 U. S. 263 (1993)
O'Connor, J., dissenting
Petitioners assert that, even if their activities are class based, they are not motivated by any discriminatory animus but only by their profound opposition to the practice of abortion. I do not doubt the sincerity of that opposition. But in assessing the motivation behind petitioners' actions, the sincerity of their opposition cannot surmount the manner in which they have chosen to express it. Petitioners are free to express their views in a variety of ways, including lobbying, counseling, and disseminating information. Instead, they have chosen to target women seeking abortions and to prevent them from exercising their equal rights under law. Even without relying on the federally protected right to abortion, petitioners' activities infringe on a number of state-protected interests, including the state laws that make abortion legal, Va. Code Ann. §§ 18.2-72, 18.2-73 (1988), and the state laws that protect against force, intimidation, and violence, e. g., Va. Code Ann. § 18.2-119 (Supp. 1992) (trespassing), § 18.2-120 (1988) (instigating trespass to prevent the rendering of services to persons lawfully on the premises), § 18.2-404 (obstructing free passage of others), § 18.2-499 (conspiring to injure another in his business or profession). It is undeniably petitioners' purpose to target a protected class, on account of their class characteristics, and to prevent them from the equal enjoyment of these personal and property rights under law. The element of class-based discrimination that Griffin read into § 1985(3) should require no further showing.
I cannot agree with the Court that the use of unlawful means to achieve one's goal "is not relevant to [the] discussion of animus." Ante, at 274. To the contrary, the deliberate decision to isolate members of a vulnerable group and physically prevent them from conducting legitimate activities cannot be irrelevant in assessing motivation. Cf. Maher v. Roe, 432 U. S. 464, 475 (1977) (noting the "basic difference," in constitutional equal protection analysis, between "direct . . . interference with a protected activity" and "encouragement
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