Buoyed on a tide of recent victories in state legislatures, anti-abortion activists from across the country are gathering here this weekend for the annual National Right to Life convention.

Organizers of the three-day session estimate that between 800 and 1,200 delegates will attend the round of seminars and speeches that open today at the Hyatt Regency Hotel at Pittsburgh International Airport. Their agenda includes reviews of the legislative strategies that have contributed to the passage of more than a score of new laws over the last year strengthening restrictions on abortion.

"This year, we've had a tremendous amount of success on the state level," said Derrick Jones, a spokesman for the convention organizers.

Among the most prominent were measures in Nebraska to ban abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, and in Oklahoma, where women seeking abortion will be required to first receive detailed information about their fetus, including displays of ultrasound images. According to a tally by the Guttmacher Institute, which favors family planning and abortion rights, roughly 370 bills restricting abortion in one way or another have been introduced in legislatures this year.

Elizabeth Nash, a public policy analyst for Guttmacher, said that as legislative sessions are typically nearing their close across the country, 29 new laws affecting abortion have already been enacted, almost all of them increasing restrictions in some way.

According to The Gallup Organization, majorities of Americans in every age group say that abortion should be permitted in at least some circumstances. But last year, for the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1995, more Americans described themselves as "pro-life" than "pro-choice."

Prominent on the list of convention speakers are Rep. John Boehner, the Republican leader of the U.S. House, and Attorney General Tom Corbett, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania.

Kevin Harley, a spokesman for Mr. Corbett, said the attorney general would deliver "a pretty simple message. ... He's going to thank them for their commitment to the pro-life movement and urge them to continue their work."

While the group he will address is strategizing to enact more extensive restrictions on abortion in statehouses across the country, Mr. Harley said Mr. Corbett has not proposed any particular changes in Pennsylvania law.

"Certainly, we have one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation," the aide said, "however, if the Legislature passed a more restrictive abortion bill, he would have to review it."

The Republican's opponent in the gubernatorial race, Allegheny County Executive Dan Onorato has repeatedly said he would veto any changes in the state's current abortion law even though he is personally opposed to abortion.

Much of the legislative action at the state level has been galvanized by the national debate over the Obama administration's health care reform, a measure opposed by the Right-to-Life Committee over fears that it would allow at least indirect federal support for abortions.

Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Forest Hills, has traditionally described himself as anti-abortion, but is a strong supporter of the health care measure. He played a prominent role in trying to address the concerns and gather the votes of anti-abortion Democrats in its final passage. Mr. Doyle said he is skeptical of the right-to-life group's analysis of the law.

"We worked hard in the caucus to make sure that public dollars weren't used to fund abortion and believe we've done that," he said. "I don't believe National Right to Life ever wanted a health care bill to pass. ... They have aligned themselves completely with the Republican Party in this debate. ... It doesn't surprise me that people like Boehner and Corbett are addressing this group."

Mr. Jones said one of the group's overriding goals, and a focus for the next three days, was the election of "a pro-life Congress."

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