You made it happen.  With nearly 170,000 of our members standing with us in opposition to the federal funding of abortion in the House health care bill, we realized an incredible victory tonight - the Stupak/Pitts Amendment - which prohibits the use of federal funds for abortion - passed the House.

The passage of this pro-life Amendment represents the only bright spot in an otherwise troubling government-run health care package put forth by House Speaker Pelosi.  The American people understand that health care should not include federal funding for abortion and we’re grateful to Democrat Congressmen Bart Stupak (D-Mich) and Joseph Pitts (R-Penn) for their unrelenting efforts in protecting the unborn. 

The 176 Republicans and 64 Democrats who stood together in a bipartisan defense of life deserve our sincere gratitude.  For many of these Members, this vote was cast in the face of serious pressure to oppose the amendment.   While there is work yet to do on this issue, this vote represents an extremely significant victory for life.

Unfortunately, the leadership in the House produced a disturbing and flawed health care package that not only fails to meet the needs of most Americans, but interjects an unprecedented level of government intrusion and bureaucracy into health care.

Again, thanks to the nearly 170,000 who signed on to our petition - standing up for life.