Action Request on Unborn Victims of Violence Act

It will be difficult to pass the Unborn Victims of Violence Act in the U.S. Senate because of strong opposition from groups like NARAL, the ACLU, and Planned Parenthood. These groups insist that crimes like the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn child Conner really only have one victim. It is essential that all senators - - including those who support legal abortion - - hear now from many citizens who agree with President Bush that such crimes have two victims.

* Please contact your two U.S. senators. Urge them to support the Unborn Victims of Violence Act ("Laci and Conner's Law"), S. 1019. Tell your senators that you agree with President Bush: When a criminal attacks a pregnant woman and injures or kills her unborn child, he has claimed two victims. Urge them to vote against any amendment that would punish a criminal for interfering with a "pregnancy," but without recognizing the unborn child as a legal victim. If a mother survives a criminal assault that kills her unborn baby, she should not be callously told that in the eyes of the law, nobody died.

* You can use the NRLC website to easily communicate with your senators by e-mail. Go to the Legislative Action Center at www.nrlc.org and enter your zip code into the Zip Code Finder (or click on the "Elected Officials" tab and then click on your state on the map). You can then send a free e-mail to both of your two U.S. senators, urging them to oppose the hostile "one-victim" amendment and support the real Unborn Victims of Violence Act.

* You should also contact your senators' offices by telephone and fax. Once you have entered your zip code or state name, the NRLC Legislative Action Center will provide a profile of your senators which will include the phone numbers of their Washington and in-state offices (often including fax numbers). You can also reach the Washing-ton office of any senator through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 - - however, this general number is sometimes jammed up during major legislative activity.

* In addition, letters can be sent by regular mail to any senator at U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510. But because of security concerns, there are sometimes considerable delays in delivery and counting of regular mail. Therefore, e-mail, faxes, and phone calls are highly recommended. The address for all U.S. senators is:

Senator ____________

U.S. Senate

Washington, D.C. 20510

* Please urge your fellow citizens to communicate with their senators, too. Utilize newsletters, church bulletins, call-in radio shows, and other means to alert pro-life citizens to this crucial fight. Also, write letters or op-ed essays for local newspapers, highlighting the critical votes that lawmakers may soon cast on the Unborn Victims of Violence Act. Make it clear that this bill does not deal with the abortion issue, but it would ensure that federal law will no longer tell a grieving mother who loses her baby at the hands of a violent criminal that "nobody really died."

* IMPORTANT REQUEST: If you obtain information on any senator's position (including information reported in the press), please forward it to NRLC by e-mail to Legfederal@aol.com (preferred), or by fax to (202) 347-3668, or by regular mail to NRLC, Federal Legis-lation, 512-10th Street North-west, Washington, D.C. 20004-1401. Please do not assume that NRLC already has the information! Often, lawmakers first reveal their leanings in interviews with their home-state news media, or in letters to their own constituents. By promptly forwarding such information to NRLC, you can provide invaluable assistance to NRLC's lobbying efforts.

National Right to Life Committee

Federal Legislative Department

512-10th Street, Northwest

Washington, D.C. 20004

Phone: (202) 626-8820

Fax: (202) 347-3668

E-mail: Legfederal@aol.com

* For updates and resources on this issue, make frequent visits to the NRLC website at www.nrlc.org.