I suspect most people in the pews have never heard of Richard Doerflinger. But he may be having a significant impact on their lives.

From NPR:

Richard Doerflinger doesn’t look the part of a high-powered political strategist. Bearded and bespectacled, he works in a small, cluttered office out of one of Washington’s less fashionable neighborhoods, far from the lobbying bastions of K Street.

Yet as the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ point man on abortion, Doerflinger has emerged as a major player in the health care debate, one likely to play a pivotal role in the outcome.

It was Doerflinger who orchestrated the bishops’ successful campaign late last year to add a tough anti-abortion provision to the House legislation. The Senate adopted less stringent language.

Now, as President Barack Obama begins his last-ditch effort to pass final legislation, Doerflinger and his bosses are sending a clear message: If the Democrats want to succeed, they must include the House provision, or something equally restrictive, on abortion.

“The Senate may have to figure out whether it wants its abortion position or if it wants a health care bill,” Doerflinger said in a recent interview. “That’s the difficult decision (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi made, and she chose a health care bill. The Senate decided it could have its cake and eat it, too. That is no longer true. Something’s going to have to give.”

The bishops have supported universal health care coverage since the days of Woodrow Wilson. But that won’t stop them from opposing any bill lacking a strict ban on using federal funds to pay for abortions, Doerflinger warns.

“We have a simple position,” he adds. “Everybody gets covered. Nobody gets deliberately killed.”

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