The Catholic Church has asked its U.S. parishioners to work toward ensuring that tough language restricting federal funding of abortion is included in healthcare overhaul legislation. A number of groups oppose abortion rights, but the church is one of the few to also support Democratic efforts to overhaul healthcare, giving the church a seat at the negotiating table, the Los Angeles Times reports. It used that influence this month as the House of Representatives prepared to vote on the healthcare legislation. Negotiators for the church worked with lawmakers to add an amendment to ensure that federal insurance subsidies do not wind up funding elective abortion.
