John Ashcroft gave all the right answers about abortion rights in January when the Senate was considering his confirmation as Attorney General. Senator Arlen Specter, a Pennsylvania Republican, asked the right questions, too.

As a senator, Mr. Ashcroft had sponsored an anti-abortion amendment in its most extreme form, outlawing he procedure even in cases of rape and incest unless the life of the mother was at stake. But in the Senate hearing, he said: “Roe v. Wade is the law of the land. I know the difference between enforcement and enactment.”

Sen. Specter, a former prosecutor, went further, asking about a federal law guaranteeing freedom of access to abortion clinics and reproductive health facilities. Mr. Ashcroft promised “aggressive” response to any violence, obstruction or coercion. He summed up his position: “Let me just say that I would support the constitutionality of the act. I don’t believe there is a First Amendment right to coercion and intimidation. I think that is the clearest thing I can say.”

It was clear, and said well, and now the attorney general has an opportunity to turn his thoughts into action. Evidence is mounting that a network of anti-abortionists encourages, protects and supports violence against abortion clinics and the murderers of physicians who perform abortions.

Federal agents were able to track down and arrest James Kopp, accused of killing a Buffalo abortion doctor, when Mr. Kopp went to a French post office to pick up $300 sent him by two American associates. His extensive travels during more than two years as a fugitive suggest that he received additional support. The two associates have been arrested and charged with conspiracy to “harbor and conceal” Mr. Kopp.

To make good on his commitments, the new attorney general must not only move “aggressively” to extradite Mr. Kopp, to prosecute him and his accomplices, and to renew a lapsed Justice Department investigation into the network that continues to foment violence against abortion clinics. An anti-abortion web site has cut back on “wanted”-style pictures that invited further murders but continues to list abortionists and their supporters as “working” “wounded” or “fatality.”

Americans of both parties should urge Mr. Ashcroft to meet this challenge, to show that his words in January still mean something now.