I don't think you can really expect non-lawyers to understand that. "Why is it being pushed?" and "who are the backers and the opponents?" would be better ques

I don't think you can really expect non-lawyers to understand that. "Why is it being pushed?" and "who are the backers and the opponents?" would be better questions to ask. "What will be the practical consequences for software-intensive companies?" is another. If software were not patentable (as it was not before 1982) then we probably wouldn't be having this discussion.