Editor's note. Please send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. Thank you!

The millions of Americans connected to National Right to Life make up one of the most special and powerful grassroots networks that have ever existed. They are the reason lawmakers heed NRLC. Here's how and why that network saves lives:

Saving Lives in Washington

In several surveys of the effectiveness of groups that lobby Congress, National Right to Life has been rated by far the highest of all pro-life organizations. Why? Because of our integrated grassroots network of 50 state organizations, 3,000 local chapters, and hundreds of thousands of loyal supporters who can be galvanized to action whenever an important vote is coming up in Congress.

Congressmen, despite some cynical views to the contrary, do listen to their constituents. When masses of people call and write, they have to listen. Often, their jobs depend on it. Even if a member of Congress is in a "safe seat," he or she usually doesn't want to harm other members in his own party by carrying a policy too far politically.

So they really do listen to your calls. Congressional offices tend to count the number of people who call in on each side of an issue, and use this ratio to gauge where their constituents stand. If many pro-life Americans are calling many congressional offices, we have a good chance to win the vote and save lives.

One of the best examples of this was the so-called "Freedom of Choice Act" (FOCA) in 1994. Like today, we had both a pro-abortion president and pro-abortion congressional leadership. Most observers thought FOCA would easily pass. But Congress received so many calls and postcards from pro-lifers (at one point the House Post Office had a million and a quarter pro-life postcards on backlog delivery!) that the leadership decided to not even bring the bill up for a vote.

Today, we are confronted with the same deadly threats of mandating abortion coverage in health care "reform" bills and rationing of lifesaving care. Some think it's inevitable these anti-life policies will be included. We say NO, and trust in the power of grassroots America, working with the most effective pro-life lobbying force in Washington, to stop it.

Saving Lives in Your State

The same type of grassroots network that exists at the national level also exists in each state. An affiliate of National Right to Life carries out the same type of grassroots lobbying, organizing, and educational work as NRLC does at the national level.

Most state Right to Life groups have political action committees (as does National Right to Life) that help elect pro-life candidates. When the political action committee is successful in electing more pro-life legislators and governors, pro-life legislation gets passed and lives are saved.

And lives are saved! Largely through the passage of pro-life laws, the number of abortions is down by 400,000 per year compared to the peak year of 1990.

You've helped save those lives!

Saving Lives in Your Community

One of the unique and most important parts of this lifesaving network is the local pro-life chapter. Three thousand of them exist around the country. Staffed largely by volunteers, they make sure that people in the community hear the message of life, see pro-life activities, hear pro-life speakers, and are joined together in telephone trees and e-mail trees to contact their elected officials. If you'd like to join a chapter or start one in your community, please call 202-626-8809 or e-mail jonathan@nrlc.org.\

Calling your congressmen saves lives! Joining or starting a chapter saves lives

Donating to your state and National Right to Life organizations saves lives! Yes, you do have an effect--a profound effect on the lives of precious human beings--when you join with National Right to Life in this great cause of defending life.

Don't Be Fooled by Imitators

Most public policy organizations work their level best to make a difference. Some groups might be able to make more of a difference because of their experience, size, or networks, but most sincerely try to build a better world.

However, Washington is also known to have some organizations that are primarily effective doing visible, but less effective, tasks. Raising money. Building lists of names for more fundraising. Holding press conferences. These groups tend to have some common traits.

One trick of these problematic groups is to organize as a stand-alone political action committee, unconnected to an established group, as is the National Right to Life PAC. Why would a new group organize as a stand-alone PAC?

Because federal political action committees don't have to register or report their fundraising work to the regulatory bodies of the 50 states. State regulators are the ones who watch charities and non-profits very closely for fraud or other problems; registering a new group as a federal PAC avoids this type of oversight.

Another common occurrence is for these groups to have names that sound similar to established, effective organizations. Donors can be confused, thinking they're giving to National Right to Life, when they're not.

A final common trait is that these groups tend to have a very high cost of fundraising. A couple of these groups have been exposed in the media as spending about 95% of their revenue on fundraising.

On the other hand, the National Right to Life Political Action Committee has a long track record of winning presidential, Senate, and House elections. NRL members who give to NRL PAC can know that well over 90% of NRL PAC's revenue goes directly to help pro-life candidates get elected.

One highly regarded conservative leader once said that there were three groups on his side of a range of issues that really got things done in Washington. When it came to the life issue, NRLC was the only group he mentioned. (The other two were involved in issues like taxes and the Second Amendment.)

We're proud that National Right to Life was recognized, but we know our strength is not primarily a result of what we do in Washington. It's because of what you do every day for the cause of life in every corner of America.

Please send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com.