National Right to Life sends letters urging pro-life lawmakers in U.S. House to oppose six major abortion problems in Senate health bill

 

WASHINGTON -- The National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), the federation of right-to-life organizations in all 50 states, has sent new letters to many members of the U.S. House of Representatives, urging them to oppose any final health care bill that fails to correct six major abortion-related problems found in the Senate-passed health care bill.

 

The letter concludes:  "NRLC believes that enactment of the abortion-related provisions of the Senate-passed health care bill would ultimately result in substantial expansions of abortion, driven by federal administrative decrees and federal subsidies, and a vote to advance such legislation would be described in those terms in the NRLC congressional scorecard for the 111th Congress.  In contrast, inclusion of the substance of the House-passed abortion language, on the six points cited above, would preserve long-established federal policies on abortion, and would fully address our concerns regarding the abortion policy issues."

 

A typical sample of the letter can be viewed in a web browser by clicking here, or downloaded in PDF format here.

 

In addition, on January 11, NRLC released a memorandum explaining how a new provision buried in the "manager's amendment" added to the Senate bill shortly before passage, opens the door to direct federal funding of elective abortion at Community Health Centers, using money from a pool of $7 billion appropriated directly in the Senate-passed bill without any restrictions whatever on the use of the money for abortion.  The memorandum can be downloaded by clicking here.  The memorandum concludes:  "The sudden appearance in the Senate health care bill of $7 billion in direct appropriations for CHCs, unconstrained by the Hyde Amendment or any other impediment to the use of the funds for direct federal funding of elective abortion, provides one more illustration of why it is critical that the final health care reform bill include the Stupak-Pitts language, which prevents any component of the House-passed health care bill (H.R. 3962) from being expended for elective abortions . . ."

 

A factsheet distilling the results of seven recent public opinion polls regarding abortion and "health care reform" is posted here.

 

For an up-to-date report on the status of the health-care legislation, click here.

 

To arrange an interview with NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson or Senior Legislative Counsel Susan T. Muskett, please call 202-626-8825 or 202-626-8820, or send e-mail to mediarelations@nrlc.org or legfederal@aol.com.  Note:  NRLC will hold a press conference regarding the status of pro-life issues in the health care legislation, the 2010 election, and other current matters, on Thursday, January 21, 2010, at 1 PM EST, at the National Press Club, Zenger Room.  Press credentials are required.

 

The National Right to Life Committee, the nation’s largest pro-life group, is a federation of affiliates in all 50 states and 3,000 local chapters nationwide.  National Right to Life works through legislation and education to protect those threatened by abortion, infanticide, euthanasia and assisted suicide.