Navigating the NRLC Web Page: A Quick Guide for Those in a Hurry

Navigating the NRLC Web Page: A Quick Guide for Those in a Hurry
By Joseph Landrum, Administrative Assistant for Public Information

I always feel guilty when a student asks for help and I can't get them an answer by their deadline. But I feel particularly bad when the information was already somewhere on our web page--www.nrlc.org--if only they'd known where to look. If you're a student in a hurry, here's a quick guide to some of the questions students ask most frequently and where to look for answers.

Let's say you are doing a general paper about abortion methods, the number of children lost/statistics, or the basics of the in utero development of the unborn child. What to do?

Go to www.nrlc.org, click on "Issue Info" in the bar across the top of the page, then click on "Abortion." On the left under "Featured Links," the first link is to "Diary of an Unborn Baby," which briefly describes several of the milestones of development.

This will answer the question many papers set out to answer: "Why should we protect children in the womb?" The photos and descriptions clearly articulate the undeniable humanity of the unborn child.

The next "Featured Link," titled "Trends and Statistics," answers what is perhaps the second most frequently asked question, how many unborn children are lost to abortions each year? Clicking on this link, one can see the numbers reported each year between 1973 and 2002 (the most recent statistics available), with our estimate of the total number performed in the U.S. since 1973. (I know 2002 seems like a long time ago, but we update this any time new statistics become available.)

Here, one can be both appalled at the estimated 47 million legal abortions that have occurred since 1973, and still acknowledge the good news that abortions declined almost every year between 1990 and 2002.

Moving from the "Featured Links" to the center of the page, one can see the text of the booklet "Abortion: Some Medical Facts." Here one can read a description of the various abortion methods, at what point in gestation they are used, along with physical and psychological risks associated with their use. This section is well documented. The descriptions of the methods and risks come from medical texts and journals. There is no hyperbole in these descriptions, which help to bring home the destructive reality of abortion and offer a glimpse into the tremendous harm caused to the mother as well.

Continuing on the theme of the harm abortion may cause the mother, there are a number of NRL News articles posted on the web site that deal with this subject. There are 12 issues of NRL News per year. The paper is indexed on the web going back to December 1997. How can one possibly find the articles one needs without wading through all of the information available?

Luckily, there is an index for each year. From the home page (www.nrlc.org, in case you just joined us), click on "Stay Informed" and then click on "NRL News." The current issue shows up. If you scroll down a little, you will see the indexes for each year over on the right. For instance, if your subject is the harm abortion causes the mother, click on a particular year and look for "Abortion: Aftereffects" or "Abortion: Post-Abortion Trauma."

While these are perhaps the most frequently asked questions I get from high school students, you may still be looking for ideas for a different kind of paper. While you are looking through the NRL News section, you might want to click on one or more of the January issues. These are our special Commemorative issues, loaded with useful information.

These vary, of course, but looking over a few may offer some ideas for starting places, such as the history and full scope of Roe v. Wade and its companion case Doe v. Bolton, overviews of where the pro-life movement has been for the last few years or decades, and what challenges we face in the year ahead.

Shifting gears, suppose you were searching for information on euthanasia and assisted suicide. Go back to the beginning (www.nrlc.org), click again on "Issue Info," and scroll down to "Euthanasia."

A link in the center column that may be particularly helpful for students writing persuasive papers or preparing for debates takes the reader to a four-part series titled "Why Shouldn't Assisting Suicide Be Legal." This breaks down the basic talking points in favor of assisted suicide, and offers a pro-life rebuttal.

Of course, there is also a wealth of information for students in government or current events classes. For an overview of recent elections activity, click on "Issue Info" and then "Elections and Polling." This shows some of the more important races where our Political Action Committee (NRL PAC) was involved, and where we provided the margin of victory.

For information about our lobbying activities, click on "Legislation" from the home page. From there, you can go to our "Legislative Action Center," which shows the bills that are likely to come up soon. You can see the text of the bills, key debating points, etc. Going back to "Legislation," you can also click on "Current Issues" to learn about all of the bills on our agenda.

Finally, don't forget what may be going on closer to home. From the home page, click on "About Us" and go to "State Affiliates." There is a link to states with up and running web sites. Information about state statistics, laws, elections, and special events may be only a few clicks away.

Of course, I have barely touched on all the resources on our web page. And if you look and still can't find what you need, click on "About Us" and then "Contact Us." Send us an e-mail and we'll try to get you an answer. I can't promise we'll meet every deadline, but we'll certainly do our best.