A Catholic pro-life activist is criticizing the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and others who have declared passage of the Stupak amendment to the House healthcare bill a pro-life victory.

Catholic bishops and other right-to-life groups have praised House approval of the Stupak amendment that bans federal funding of abortion in the public health insurance option, but Judie Brown of the American Life League (ALL) says the amendment is a "terrible defeat" for pro-lifers. Brown reports that the Stupak amendment would still permit taxpayers to pay for some abortions.

"It will allow taxpayers to pay for abortions in the cases of rape, incest, life of the mother, and quite possibly even more than that," the ALL president contends. "And the bigger problem with the Stupak amendment is that while it may be viewed by some people as being an incredible victory for the pro-life movement, the fact of the matter is it does not bode well for us being able to protect human beings in the long term"...