Pelosi: No Separate Abortion Vote for Health Care Bill

Updated at 6:15 p.m. ET with news of possible presidential signing statement.

As of Friday night, House Democratic leaders may had been ready to cut a deal with Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), who is conditioning his vote for health care reform on stricter abortion language. However, the Michigan lawmaker on Saturday morning abruptly canceled a press conference scheduled for today at which some speculated he would announce a breakthrough in negotiations. It appears the deal making has stalled for now.

Stupak supposedly has as many as 12 lawmakers who are prepared to vote against the Democrats' health care overhaul if their demands over abortion language are not met, and their votes could be enough to make or break the bill. Yet a number of pro-abortion rights House Democrats vehemently oppose Stupak's proposed changes, and could vote against any measure that includes them.

On Friday Stupak said he would only support the Democrats' health care bill if Democratic leaders promised him that both the House and the Senate would vote on a separate measure to amend the Senate bill to add strict constraints to abortion coverage in health insurance plans.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said today, however, that she would not allow a separate vote on abortion, CBS News Capitol Hill Producer Jill Jackson reports.

When asked if she would allow the vote, Pelosi said, "Not on abortion, not on public option, not on single payer, not on anything."

Reports indicate that Pelosi may have come to that decision late Friday night.

An unnamed member of Congress briefed on the matter said Pelosi had agreed to let Stupak put his legislative language up for a vote, the progressive blog FireDogLake reported Friday night. The Web site also obtained a copy of Stupak's resolution.

This morning, just minutes after Stupak canceled his press conference, the conservative National Review Online reported that two anti-abortion rights GOP members close to Stupak said that Stupak is "finished with Pelosi" and that House leadership rejected his resolution.

Pro-abortion rights Democrats reportedly told Pelosi that she would lose dozens of votes if Stupak's measure moved forward.

A group of pro-abortion rights Democrats angrily surrounded Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) on Friday night, The Hill reported, and then met with Pelosi.

Stupak's resolution is "a non-starter," said Pro-Choice Caucus co-chairwoman Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), according to The Hill.

"We compromised to the concept 'no federal funding for abortion,' which is current law — we don't like that," DeGette reportedly said last night after meeting with Pelosi. "And so if Mr. Stupak and a few members, along with the Republicans, decide to use this to take health care down, then that loss on healthcare coverage is going to be on their hands."

Stupak managed to amend the House health care bill that passed last year to completely prohibit anyone receiving federal insurance subsidies from buying insurance that includes abortion coverage. The Senate bill includes abortion coverage restrictions that are less stringent: recipients of federal tax credits would be permitted to buy insurance that covers abortion, but they would have to write a separate check, with their own money, to pay for a separate part of the policy that covers abortion.

Some anti-abortion groups, including the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, oppose the Senate language, but others, including leaders of religious orders representing 59,000 Catholic nuns, say the Senate language sufficiently keeps federal funding out of abortions.

Meanwhile, the House Rules Committee is spending the day debating the reconciliation "fix it" bill Congressional Democrats plan to pass to amend the Senate health care bill. They are considwering a deluge of 90 amendments that have been submitted, 86 from Republicans, meaning the committee may continue its meeting through a visit from President Obama on Capitol Hill today.

The House will vote on the Senate health care bill and the reconciliation bill tomorrow.

UPDATE: House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said this afternoon that Democrats are discussing the possibility that President Obama could sign executive order on abortion after the legislation is passed to address Stupak's concerns.

More Coverage of the Health Care Reform Debate:

The Hunt for Health Care Votes: Democrats to Watch
Obama: Health Care Debate is About Country's Character
Obama Has Given 54 Speeches on Health Care
Will Democrats Sacrifice House Seats for Health Care?
Obama Deploys Personal Presidential Touch
Dem Health Care Bill Pegged at $940B Over 10 Years
Washington Unplugged: Jill Jackson and Mark Knoller on the Final Push
Steny Hoyer: Health Care Vote Won't Cost Us in Nov.
CBSNews.com Special Report: Health Care

Details of the Bill:

What's in Health Care Bill? Take a Dose
Health Care Special Deals: What's Left In?
Dems Include Student Aid Reform Package in Bill
Health Care Bill Extends Tax to Investments
Read the Text (PDFs): Complete Senate Bill | Reconciliation Measure

[david393071]

Pelosi could care less about this Insurance Scam since it does not affect/effect her:

"We're able to access that health care 24 hours a day when we're in Washington," Graham said, leading us to the Attending Physician's Office, a clinic inside the U.S. Capitol. They don't even have to leave the office.

About half of the members of Congress, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, use the Attending Physician benefit. For $42 a month, they can get all the primary care they need - physical therapy, X-rays, minor surgery, specialists and a pharmacy for emergencies - no appointment needed.

They also get VIP hospital treatment from the best doctors at Bethesda Naval Hospital. And they have a reserved spot at the elite Ward 72 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, where the late Sen. Strom Thurmond spent a lot of time.

Outpatient care is free. Well, free for them. Your tax dollars pick up the cost.

The Hypocrisy is that the late Senator Kennedy of whom the Democratic Party refer to as the champion of this so called Health Care Reform used the Medical Services listed above for $42 per month. As well as Bethesda Naval Hospital (reference New Media footage of his departure after treatment at Bethesda).

It does help her get more campaign contributions in addtion to those she already got from the Insurance Corporations:

House speaker will keep money from 'villains', Pelosi called insurers 'immoral,' despite receiving funds from industry.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32237227/ns/politics-cq_politics


If it is good enough for the President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, Senator Max Baucas, Congress, and all those trying ram something up our arses that they will never use (be screwed over by).

We want what they have for $42 per month.


NO ANAL RAPE.

Contact President:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/

Contact Congress:

http://www.contactingthecongress.org/

Keep emailing them until they respond.

[sean71z]

Federal funds for eugenics is illegal. The abortion industry spent too much money on mouthpieces for this piece of legislation. Pelosi's fascist attitude is near defeat. Obama is desperate. His one-term president strategy will not work.

[kluzer12]

Latest poll on health care 55% oppose the bill 35% support the bill. I hope the main stream media report the fact that the people do not want this bill and those voting for it are going against the wishes of the majority of Americans.

[ThomasJeffersonLives]

Nancy Pelosi: The Big Mommy Poster-Child for the Nanny State

[rwsmith29456]

I hate the idea of abortion. I'm also old enough to remember back-alley or self-done abortions. The point is that women will get abortions whether it is legal or not, often in unsafe ways. That is simply reality.

[SueZeeeQue]

The legistlation already has measures that prevent federal money from being spent on abortion.


This fake contraversy has just been about stopping reform from happening at any cost.

[50BMS13]

I wonder how many murders from abortion Pelosi will be responsible for? She makes Adolf Hitler look like a boyscout selling cookies on Sunday!

[SueZeeeQue]

How so?

[amused907]

Dear religious fanatics of the far right... news flash:
You are not the majority.

You don't run the country just because you cry the loudest when you lose. The last presidential election showed that.

[Mortar_29]

News flash to you Marxists on the left...you are not the majority!

[slownewsday_____]

Funny that you'd respond to being called a religious fanatic, Mort.

At least you can admit you have delusions. Kudos on that.

[erich_1-2009]

Democrats = Pro-Abortion.
Republicans = Pro-Life. Republicans believe that the words in the Declaration of Independence that say..."... that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness," means that a person has the Right to Life even while in the mother's womb. True Christianity, whether, Catholic, Protestant, or Orthodox teaches us that HUMAN LIFE BEGINS AT CONCEPTION. This does not allow for the idea of infanticide of a child of a botched abortion, like President Obama voted for twice while a State Senator of Illinois. Pope John Paul II called this "The Culture of Death."

I'm a Protestant that will stand with both Pope John Paul, Pope Benedict, all the Catholic Cardinals, and Catholic Bishops on that one. Research that statement above about the Catholic Nuns, you find that CBS has not told the entire truth regarding that statement.

Hey, I even believe in the Hippocratic Oath that declares that a Doctor should never perform an abortion. I am not sure about a pessary though...

[banned62times]

"Ask NOT what your COUNTRY IS DOING TO YOU, but what you can do for your country."

or

"Ask WHAT WE CAN TAKE FROM THEM, and GIVE THE LEFT OVER SCRAPS TO YOU"