MEDIA UPDATE:
NRLC, media reports examine abortion issue as health care bill moves to Senate

It has been reported that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nv.) may attempt initial procedural steps to bring health care legislation to the Senate floor next week.  In advance of the Senate's debate, we wanted to draw your attention to a number of recent items which you might find helpful in your coverage of the continuing health care debate:

• The text of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, as adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives on November 7, 2009 (PDF File)

• Appearing on C-SPAN's Washington Journal program this morning (Friday, November 13), NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson discussed the effect of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment in the U.S. House and the prospects for the measure in the Senate.  The segment is approximately 21 minutes.

• On November 9, Wall Street Journal columnist William McGurn discussed the success of Rep. Bart Stupak in prevailing to receive an up-or-down vote on the Stupak-Pitts Amendment in "The Man Who Made Pelosi Cry 'Uncle'".

• A November 9, 2009 analysis by National Public Radio on what the Stupak-Pitts Amendment does and does not do.  Additionally, the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops released a factsheet entitled "What Does the Stupak Amendment Really Do?" which is made available on the NRLC website.

• In "Abortion Upends Health-Bill Alliance," published today, the Wall Street Journal's Gerald F. Seib examines efforts by pro-abortion Democrats to strip the Stupak-Pitts Amendment from the final health care bill.

• A summary of recent polls on public opinion on abortion in health care which is posted on our website.

• On November 7th, Rep. Nita Lowey (D-NY) said that the Stupak-Pitts Amendment "puts new restrictions on women's access to abortion coverage in the private health insurance market even when they would pay premiums with their own money." On November 9, PolitiFact.com issued an analysis and has rated this comment as "FALSE."

• PolitiFact.com also reviewed a November 9 statement by Planned Parenthood, "President Obama campaigned on a promise to put reproductive health care at the center of his reform plan," which PolitiFact.com rated as "TRUE."  A short video of Obama making the promise can be viewed on NRLC's YouTube Channel.

Additional documentations on these matters are available on the National Right to Life website: www.nrlc.org/ahc.

Both NRLC Legislative Director Douglas Johnson and Senior Legislative Counsel Susan T. Muskett are available for interviews on the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, H.R. 3962, and the approaching Senate debate over health care and abortion.  To arrange an interview, contact the NRLC Communications Department at (202) 626-8825.

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.