We traditionally celebrate October as "Respect Life Month." Encouraging news marks this year’s observances. The Gallup poll reports that for three consecutive polls in the last year, more Americans call themselves "pro-life" than "pro-choice" on abortion. The respected polling firm states now that a pro-life majority is the "new normal" in the United States.

According to a recent poll, 47 percent of Americans say they are pro-life on abortion versus 45 percent who say they are "pro-choice," supporting legal abortion.

This development is a tremendous shift in 15 years. In 1995, Gallup found a 56-33 percent pro-abortion split. Because this now is the third consecutive time that Americans by poll are taking the pro-life position, Gallup calls the results "a real change in public opinion."

It would appear that much of this change has come about because of the focus on partial-birth abortion, which highlights how abortion kills unborn children. When I have asked "pro-choice" legislators who changed their votes why they did so, the answer has been consistent: "Partial birth abortion is infanticide."

More people are reflecting on the issues with increased sensitivity and depth. Biology is involved. The natural law is persuasive. For more than a century and a half, scientists have been saying that a new human individual comes into being from the union of sperm and egg at fertilization. Three-D sonar imaging and other technologies have brought home in moving ways the growth of this distinct human being.

Of course, we must never lose sight of the pregnant woman who is beset with all sorts of anxiety over the moral choice of bringing her baby to birth. She may be sure that the Church offers significant help to her: financial, medical, counseling, education, etc. Our pregnancy care centers, social service agencies, and hospitals are here to help. Alternatives to abortion are available, and adoption is an option.

The Health Care Reform Act is now operating in our country. The Catholic Bishops of the United States have been advocating for almost a century greater health care coverage and insurance for the people of the United States. They have a distinguished record both of providing health coverage and consistently promoting more effective health care.

The current Act poses serious problems. It could promote, for the first time in three decades, federal funding for abortion and plans that cover abortion. Whether people tolerate abortion or not, their tax dollars could be used in support of abortion. There is no Hyde Amendment in the Act. Yes, the President has issued an Executive Order to forbid federal funding for abortion, but an Executive Order does not come close to the significance of statutory law. There are significant questions concerning the ability of such an order to persevere and be continually implemented.

It must also be stated that the Act is severely flawed because it has failed to include necessary language to provide essential conscience protections, both within and beyond the abortion context. These protections should be guaranteed both for individual health care workers and for health care facilities.

Costs of the Act require serious deliberation and action as its implications become more evident.

It is more than 37 years since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalizing abortion. It is estimated that upwards of 50 million abortions have been performed in that time, a terrible blight on the history of our country. People have not wanted to talk about it, but the momentum of pro-life conviction moves on inexorably, as witnessed by the recent polls.

Life is the fundamental right, and the other rights proceed from it. The right to privacy is critical, but it cannot be extended to taking the life of an innocent human being.