Senate urged to cast an unconditional NO vote on the cloture motion to proceed to the health care bill

Last evening, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) unveiled his 2, 074-page health care bill, the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act. Not only is less strict, less-than-Stupak abortion funding language contained in Reid's bill, but there is still nothing in place to remedy the problem that is the underlying mechanism for carrying out single-payer, government-run health care - the rationing of life-saving medical treatments and placing the most intimate health decisions of every American in the hands of Washington bureaucrats.

Eagle Forum urges the U.S. Senate to cast an unconditional NO vote on the cloture vote on the motion to proceed, which requires a 60 vote threshold and will likely occur sometime on Saturday, November 21st.

"This bill in its entirety is an attack on life at all stages," said Eagle Forum president and founder Phyllis Schlafly. "The presence of the end-of-life counseling provisions in this bill and the Democrats' rejection of all offered amendments to ban the practice of rationing is not a fluke. It is the foundation around which this legislation has been written."

"Regardless of any tweaks made to the abortion language in the bill, one thing is for sure. A YEA vote for cloture on the motion to proceed is not only a vote in favor of government-run health care, but it is also a vote for government-sanctioned euthanasia," said Schlafly. "Just think 'Terry Schiavo' on a massive scale."

Defending life has been a top priority for Eagle Forum since Mrs. Schlafly began battling the radical pro-abortion feminists in the 1970s.

"We all know that being pro-life is more than just being anti-abortion," said Schlafly. "This week, the pro-life community must unite to defend not only the unborn, but the lives of those who rose up all across America in town hall meetings and revealed this bill for what it really is--anti-American socialism."

"There is no cleaning up this bill. Supporting cloture and just hoping for the best is not an acceptable strategy," concluded Schlafly. "The American people's overwhelming opposition deserves to be recognized, and they'll be watching as their Senators cast their votes this week. I urge every Senator who values the will of their constituents to vote NO on this motion."