By Louise Melling, Director, ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project

I’m  back in New York  after an action-packed, anti-Stupak day at the capitol. It was exhilarating — buses from all over,  from Mississippi and Wisconsin and Maine; an overflow crowd at the noon rally  (did you catch I said overflow!); and a parade of representatives and senators –  Sens. Boxer and Murray, and Reps. DeGette, Nadler, Maloney, Capps, Lowey, Edwards, Harman, Slaughter, and DeLauro among  others.

And  over and over, it was a reminder that every day needs to be anti-Stupak day, in  full force, if we are to win. And win we  must.

I joined a group of college students from the University of Connecticut  in a meeting with Rep. Joe Courtney, who represents the district that includes  my hometown of 1,000. It’s democratic  territory. The congressman did the right  thing. He voted against Stupak. He  voted for health care reform. He is  pro-choice.

The  meeting was a wake-up call. He said he  has received many calls in support of Stupak and that, until recently, it would  seem that our adversaries have been dominating the public conversation as well.  It’s their voices in the letters to the editors and on the radio — and with  effect. He told of visiting seniors,  where he expected to face a raft of questions about the impact of health care  on Medicare. This surprised me. The seniors were as concerned about the  prospect of public funding being used for abortion as they were about Medicare.

We  need, he said, to be out there — reaching out to our senators and representatives. We need to tell the White House what we  think and what we want in the final bill.  We need to let our voices be heard in the media, of all forms.

And  we have good reason to raise our voices.  We can’t and shouldn’t tolerate further restrictions on abortion  coverage. We can’t and shouldn’t  tolerate a measure that leaves women worse off than before health care  reform. And we surely can’t agree to the Faustian bargain we are being offered — women will make real gains in health  care, but only if we throw access to abortion coverage under the bus. We need to get in the drivers’ seat.