Don’t Overlook Valuable NRLC Web Resources
By Pat McGee, Director
Information Technology Department

   (Editor’s note. The following offers a quick tour of one of the many important resources found on NRLC’s web page: www.nrlc.org.)

   In the March National Right to Life News, Kym DuBois wrote an article that outlined the plethora of information available from NRLC’s web site, www.nrlc.org. In this discussion I’ll deal with one particular area: factsheets or, as we sometimes call them, “quick facts.”

   This is an area of our web site that hosts an abundance of important reference information delivered in a concise format. Each factsheet is only one or two pages long. Each is chock-full of pertinent life-related information. Each can be quickly read, quickly downloaded, and quickly printed.

   We also like to call them quick facts because each can be read in about two or three minutes. You’ll come away feeling very informed on the issue, ready and able to spread the pro-life word with confidence.

    Not only do these factsheets expand and solidify your understanding, they give you a solid basis with which to defend the pro-life cause. They are also an ideal reference for students to use when researching various aspects of the abortion issue.

   The best part about these quick facts is (as with everything from NRLC) that you know the information is the most accurate and reliable available. All the factsheets presented are painstakingly well-documented, standard procedure for NRLC.

   Factsheets are different from other information resources found on our web page under “Issue Info,” such as brochures, periodicals, and pamphlets, which we will discuss another time. To ensure that the factsheets, strong tools for pro-lifers, are more easily found, they have been separated out. Not only are they more easily accessed this way, it heightens users’ awareness.

   To access the factsheets, just go to www.nrlc.org. Look at the top under the heading, “Issue Info.” Click on that and there they are, fifth from the top. All are available in Adobe pdf format. If you do not have Adobe Reader, you can download it free. (To go directly to the factsheets, type www.nrlc.org/factsheets.)

What Is Available

   Currently, we have 16 different factsheets available. They range from an explanation of NRLC’s history and mission—how we are set up, and how effective we are—to an overview of abortion trends. The factsheets are periodically updated to reflect new information. Let’s look at three that have been recently updated, or are altogether new.

   The “Abortion in the US: Statistics and Trends” factsheet tallies the number of abortions since Roe v. Wade (now over 46 million) and shows the ratio of abortions to live births and number of abortions per 1,000 women of childbearing age. The factsheet also takes a look into the “factors involved in abortion decline.” This factsheet was updated in January 2005 and contains the most recent data then available from two independent sources: the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) and AGI (the Alan Guttmacher Institute)—Planned Parenthood’s special research affiliate, which is the more complete source of abortion figures.

   The factsheet is available at www.nrlc.org/factsheets. To reach it directly, go to www.nrlc.org/factsheets/FS03_AbortionInTheUS.pdf.

   “Deaths Associated with RU486” discusses the deaths of several women and girls associated with RU486. The factsheet contains a detailed explanation of how the abortifacient RU486 kills the unborn child and presents real dangers to his or her mother.

   It goes on to explain how this type of chemical abortion normally involves two types of drugs, how they are administered, and what typically happens after they are administered. This factsheet may be obtained by going to www.nrlc.org/factsheets or directly at www.nrlc.org/FactSheets/FS15_pilldanger.pdf.

   “Supreme Court Abortion Decisions” is the new factsheet that gives a brief synopsis of the 22 major abortion-related decisions handed down by the Supreme Court. It also dispels myths surrounding what would happen were Roe v. Wade to be overturned.

   This factsheet goes further to illustrate similarities between the 1857 Dred Scott decision and the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. This factsheet may be found at www.nrlc.org/factsheets or directly at www.nrlc.org/FactSheets/FS16_SupremeCourt.pdf.

   This is just a brief glimpse at just three of the 16 incredibly informative factsheets available on NRLC’s web site. Please take a few minutes to browse through these, print them out, share them with others, and e-mail someone the link. It is definitely time well spent!

   Please remember: if you do not have Internet access, your printer is down, or for whatever reason you cannot download these documents, do not hesitate to contact us. We can print these documents out and mail them to you.

   You can e-mail us at nrlc@nrlc.org or call (202) 626-8829. The mailing address is NRL Educational Trust Fund, Attn: Information Request, 512 10th Street NW, Washington, DC 20004. NRLC and the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund are always available to you as a resource.

   Remember to bookmark our web site, www.nrlc.org, and check it frequently, as it can often have multiple changes daily. Whether it is pro-life legislation, the daily web column “Today’s News & Views,” or educational materials, we convey the information to you as it happens.

   (All information on NRLC’s web site created by National Right to Life Committee, Inc., and National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund is free to copy and distribute. We strongly encourage you to do so. When using our information, NRLC asks that you give NRLC the appropriate credit and use proper citations. When the information is not NRLC’s intellectual property—which is obvious because the article indicates it is reprinted from some other source—you need to contact the original source for reprint permission.)