After months of debate, the critical week in the fight to keep abortion out of the House of Representatives’ version of the health care bill has arrived.

Speaker Pelosi has unveiled her roughly 2,000 page version of the legislation and has indicated that she will call for a vote of the full House later this week.  As we are reviewing the bill, it is apparent that virtually all of the problems that existed in previous versions have also found their way into the Pelosi bill.  This is not unexpected and the push intensifies from abortion advocates to make abortion-on-demand a fundamental right.

Of highest priority to us is the multitude of abortion-related funding problems in the bill.  As with previous iterations, the Pelosi bill fully injects the government into the abortion business.  The bill authorizes the public plan to cover abortions, allows federal dollars to flow to plans that cover abortions, and allows federal subsidies to pay for abortions.  This flies in the face of the long-standing Hyde Amendment that prohibits federal funding of abortions.  Speaker Pelosi is pushing legislation that is not subject to the protections of the Hyde Amendment.

Fortunately, dozens of Democrats, led by Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, are joining with Republicans in demanding that no federal funds be used for abortion in this health care measure. Speaker Pelosi has thus far refused to allow a vote on the House floor that would allow the pro-life protections of the Hyde Amendment to be attached to the bill.  Unless this unacceptable and unreasonable position is reversed, we are standing with Rep. Stupak in calling for all Members of the House of Representatives to vote against the Rule that would bring the bill to the Floor.  Absent a clear vote on the abortion concerns in the bill, this bill must not proceed.

The abortion issue is not the only troubling aspect of this health care legislation.  We still have numerous concerns with the bill, including giving Planned Parenthood the ability to run clinics in our schools, the continued presence of end-of-life counseling incentives that exist in the bill, and the overall idea of a government-run health care system.  All of these are reasons to stand with us against the Pelosi bill.

Time is of the essence. Stand with us this week as we fight against this massive government-run plan that makes abortion a core government service.  If you haven't done so already, please sign on to our petition now.

And, we will keep you posted as developments unfold on our daily radio broadcast, Jay Sekulow Live!