• In this video clip, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) speaks out against the health care reform bill’s Stupak-Pitts Amendment, which limits how private insurance companies can offer coverage for abortion. More conservatively inclined Democrats voted for the House of Representative’s version of the health care bill this past Saturday night only after the Stupak-Pitts Amendment was included. The video is a little snoozy at first, but 45 seconds in, Sen. Gillibrand gets to the good stuff about why Stupak-Pitts isn’t good for our reproductive rights. [YouTube]
• Speaking of the Stupak-Pitts Amendment, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has said today that the Senate has the 60 votes needed to block the controversial bill when it makes its way to there. Let’s hope so. [Huffington Post]

A health care reform passed in the House of Representatives on Saturday night, but only after politicians included an anti-abortion amendment to the bill so it could gain more support. Called the Stupack Amendment, named for Sen. Bart Stupack (D-MI), it prohibits the use of federal subsidies for private insurance plans that cover abortion. In other words, if private insurance companies want to take money from individuals who are using federal dollars to pay for their health insurance, they cannot offer abortion coverage in their plans. Critics of the amendment say it’s a move by pro-lifers to encourage private health insurance companies to drop abortion coverage entirely. [The New York Times]