The National Right-To-Life Committee has sent a letter to all members of Congress urging them to vote for the Stupak Amendment which will ban all federal funding for abortion coverage. The key section in the letter reads: “As NRLC’s congressional scorecard for the 111th Congress will clearly explain, a vote against the Stupak-Pitts Amendment can only be construed as a position-defining vote in favor of establishing a federal government program that will directly fund abortion on demand, with federal funds, and a second federal program that will provide government subsidies to private insurance plans that cover abortion on demand. NRLC regards this as the most important House roll call on federal funding of abortion since the House last voted directly on the Hyde Amendment in 1997. If you do not wish to go on record in support of creating major new federal programs that will both fund abortions directly and subsidize private abortion coverage, please vote for the Stupak-Pitts Amendment. NRLC will regard a ‘present’ vote as equivalent to a negative vote on the Stupak-Pitts Amendment.”
To be clear, this will be a “scored vote” by NRLC. So, as Republicans try and frustrate the eventual health care bill, they should be very careful not to think that voting against Stupak to make the final bill toxic will work. NRLC has laid down a marker and pro-life members on both sides of the aisle should not turn our concern for human dignity into a bargaining strategy. The halls of Congress are often one big invitation to cynicism, but not where the dignity of human life is concerned.
