Legislative Action Alert

This is a congressional alert from the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) in Washington, D.C., issued Thursday, March 6, 2003.  Please forward to all appropriate lists.  For further information, call 202-626-8820, send e-mail to legfederal@aol.com, or visit the NRLC website at http://www.nrlc.org. 

U.S. Senate Fight on Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act to Start March 10

     WASHINGTON (March 6, 2003) -- In response to President Bush's appeal to ban an "abhorrent procedure that offends human dignity," the U.S. Senate is slated to begin debate on the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act the week of March 10.
     The legislation (S. 3), sponsored by Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.), would ban an abortion method in which a living baby is mostly delivered alive before being killed.  The bill has been a major pro-life priority since 1995.  It was twice vetoed by President Clinton.
     A January Gallup poll found that 70% of the public favors the ban.  Nevertheless, the bill still faces fierce resistance from lawmakers closely allied with the abortion lobby. It is not yet known whether pro-abortion senators will attempt to impede the bill with a filibuster.  Close votes are expected on crippling amendments, including an alternative measure that pro-life groups refer to as "the phony ban." 
     For details on the current congressional situation, recently reported statistics on partial-birth abortion, and other up-to-date information, see the memo "Recent Developments on Partial-Birth Abortion," posted on the NRLC website at http://www.nrlc.org.  Also viewable on the website is a series of graphic illustrations of the partial-birth abortion method, recently made available to NRLC.
    
ACTION REQUESTED
     Because the vote is so near, phone calls and faxed letters are the best way to communicate with senators' offices.  E-mail is also useful, but in some cases it may not be counted in time to impact on the vote.  Where possible, use all three of these modes of communication.
     To send a fast, easy e-mail on this bill to Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, or any other U.S. senator, use the NRLC Legislative Action Center.  Click on this link:   http://www.capwiz.com/nrlc/issues/alert/?alertid=1366361&type=CO or, if it does not appear as a link in your e-mail, just cut-and-paste that address into your internet brower.  After reading the alert message, enter your zip code, and a suggested e-mail message to your senators in favor of the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act will be displayed.  You can send the messages directly from the NRLC site.
     To obtain telephone or fax numbers, click "Elected Officials," select California, and click through to the profiles of Feinstein and Boxer.
     In the alternative, just go to the NRLC website at http://www.nrlc.org.  Under the prominent heading "Legislative Action Center," enter your zip code into the box, and you will automatically be provided with a button to obtain "Info" on your two U.S. senators, including the phone numbers of their Washington and in-state offices and their fax numbers.
     You can also reach the Washington office of any senator through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121.  However, this general number is sometimes jammed up during major legislative activity.
     Please urge like-minded fellow citizens to communicate with their senators, too.  Also, write letters or op-ed essays for local newspapers, highlighting the critical votes that lawmakers are casting on partial-birth abortion.
    
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 Legislation, 512-10th Street Northwest, Washington, D.C. 20004-1401
     This can be of great assistance to NRLC's lobbying effort to ban partial-birth abortions.  Please, do not assume 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.
     A short factsheet, "Key Facts on Partial-Birth Abortion," is posted here: http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/keyfactsPBA.htm
     The most extensive archive of documentation on partial-birth abortion available on the internet, including links to groundbreaking investigations of the subject by journalists, is here:  http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/index.html.   Among the documents posted is NRLC's in-depth testimony presented to Congress, with citations to primary sources:  http://www.nrlc.org/abortion/pba/test.html



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