On Tuesday, the Senate voted 54 to 45 to defeat the Nelson-Hatch amendment (S. Amdt 2962) to HR3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Senators Ben Nelson (D-NE) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT), along with several others, introduced the amendment earlier this week in an attempt to insert language similar to the House-passed Stupak-Pitts amendment.  Click here to see how your senators voted.

The Nelson-Hatch amendment sought to put the policy priorities of the US Catholic bishops before the needs of women nationwide. Originally, Senator Nelson maintained that the abortion language in the healthcare bill was not a make-or-break factor in his vote.  This week, however, he hardened his stance on the abortion language, stating that he would not vote for a healthcare bill that did not specifically exclude any insurance coverage for abortion.  This shift can be attributed, at least in part, to the lobbying efforts of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

Senator Nelson went so far as to delay his amendment until the bishops approved the language!

The fight is not over yet. The bishops and their lobbyists will continue their efforts to include similar language in the final version of the healthcare reform bill.

We need you to contact your Senators and thank those who voted against Nelson-Hatch - and rebuke those who supported the amendment.  Remind them that Catholics in your state do not support restricting access to abortion services as a part of healthcare reform.

Take Action!

Write to your Senators about their vote on the Nelson-Hatch amendment, and urge them to oppose any future attempts to restrict women's access to complete reproductive healthcare coverage as the debate continues.

Please forward this alert to friends, family and colleagues. Thank you for taking action with Catholics for Choice!