Could Abortion Amendment Derail Health Care Bill?

By: Jill Jackson
Topics: Health Care

(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

To say it's a big day on Capitol Hill would be an understatement. Congress rarely meets on a Saturday. It's no regular occurrence for President Obama to come to the Hill to meet with the House Democratic Caucus. And Democrats are increasingly confident that they have the votes to make history and pass H.R. 3962, the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" tonight.

"We will pass healthcare reform," Pelosi said confidently to reporters after meeting this morning with the president.

But there are still twists and turns that Democratic leadership and proponents of the bill could face this evening.

Just last night, Democratic leadership gave up on efforts to work out a compromise between Democrats who support abortion rights, those who do not and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The original abortion language required that the exchange have at least one plan that covered abortion and one that did not. It would have required all insurance companies in the exchange to put federal funds and private premiums in separate accounts to make sure abortions were only paid for with private funds. Opponents of abortion rights called that simply a line on the ledger.

(AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Speaker Pelosi realized that to get the votes for the overall bill, she would have to allow Democrats against abortion rights, led by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), the chance to offer an amendment that would essentially bar insurance companies in the health insurance exchange from covering abortion. Stupak has been threatening for weeks to block the bill if he did not have the chance to offer his amendment and said he had around 40 members who would vote with him.

Between Democrats and Republicans in the House who are opponents of abortion rights, the Stupak amendment could very well pass tonight. The speaker put 190 members of the Pro-Choice Caucus in the awkward position of wanting a health care reform bill, but not wanting to support that abortion language either.

The big question now is will Democrats who are supporters of abortion rights hold their noses?

Rep. Janet Schakowsky (D-Ill.), a supporter of allowing abortions to be covered in the exchange, said she will vote for the bill despite the Stupak amendment. But she is making it clear to Democratic leadership that she will not be so forgiving in the next round. She says if the bill comes out of conference with the Stupak language still in the bill, she will vote no. Other members of the Caucus indicated they would do the same, but some could still peel off if the Stupak amendment passes.

Another big question? What will be in the Republican's Motion to Recommit? The motion is usually the minority's one shot to either kill the bill or amend it. And in this House, where Democrats outnumber Republicans 258 to 177, the motions, otherwise known as MTRs, usually fail.

Republicans will get two opportunities to change the bill. They will get one hour of debate on a Republican substitute, which is expected to fail, and then their usual MTR. GOP aides say no one will see the language until it is introduced on the floor, but there is buzz from members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus that Republicans might put language in the MTR that would bar illegal immigrants from purchasing health insurance in the new health insurance exchange -- even if, as the bill currently reads, they pay for coverage with their own money and are not eligible for any federal subsidies.

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Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) fears that language might attract enough Democratic support for it to actually pass. He says 20 members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus would vote against the final bill if Republicans succeed in making immigration language more restrictive. Most, if not all, of those members are votes that leadership is counting on to pass the bill.

Rep. Charlie Gonzalez (D-Texas) indicated he would not vote for the final bill if any more immigration language is added. He said it's "bad policy and counter-productive." He said the exchange should be able to provide coverage to anyone who can pay for it.

About two-dozen Democrats, a mix of freshman, fiscal conservatives and even 3 committee chairman, have said they will not vote for the bill. Add Gutierrez's 20 to that two-dozen and the legislation fails.

Of course, it's also possible that Republicans will include language on immigration and other measures, like medical liability reform, that might help Democrats explain their vote against the measure.

If Pelosi succeeds in keeping her caucus together tonight to pass health care reform, despite the different and conflicting factions in her caucus, there will be plenty of talk from proponents about history being made. But it's important to remember though that this is still far from Mr. Obama's desk.

The Senate is struggling just to put together its bill and get the sixty votes needed to bring it to the floor and to prevent a filibuster. Then, the two Houses will have to work out differences and pass bills all over again.

(CBS)

Jill Jackson is a CBS News Capitol Hill Producer. You can read more of her posts in Hotsheet here. You can also follow her on Twitter.

Jill Jackson
Jill Jackson is a CBS News senior political producer.
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by llittle111 March 29, 2010 2:28 AM EDT: No way should Mr. John Doh be able to impose his viewpoints onto Miss Jane Doe's uterus. Anti-abortion fanatics (and all anti-abortionists are fanatics)would like to see a $200.00 abortion cost escalate to 18 years of welfare at the cost of several hundred thousand. What do you do with this population? Well if you are Republicans Bush and Cheney, you start a war against the wrong country and use this population when it reaches 17 to kill Iraqi women and children and put the nation trillions in debt and have Sarah Palin blame it on Obama and have the hillbilly teabaggers believe it.
The doctor and the patient are the only ones who make decisions about the abortion option, not MR.John Doh.; Reply to this comment


by llittle111 November 10, 2009 10:21 PM EST: Pro life is a joke. Nobody cares about life when it gets here and nobody cares about throwing it away when it is about eighteen or nineteen years old and capable of killing thousands of other life forms in far away countries. When the life is a pencil dot, its worth murdering people, blowing up their bldgs of those who disagree with them as a matter of policy?; Reply to this comment


by llittle111 November 10, 2009 9:58 PM EST: Women should be outraged. Their health concerns have been dismissed by a group of anti-abortion fanatics in the Senate who insist their religious beliefs triumph in the form of compulsory pregnancy. This decision doesn?t represent the people, it represents the church. The doctor and the patient are the only ones who should be making the choices, not Scott Roeder or Senator Ben Nelson of Oatmeal, Nebraska who is holding up health care legislation to insist on anti-abortion language. Not every pregnancy is the result of a **** servicing the neighborhood and needs to ?pay for her sins.? All pregnancies must have an abortion option period. There is such a statistic as maternal mortality which is carefully hidden. There are those whose death is certain if their pregnancy is carried to term, like the married 12 year old who bled to death in an anti-abortion Islamic country. Unintended pregnancies can destroy lives. The poor must contend with it using a coat hanger and the rich spend a few dollars flying to a resort for medical attention. Abortion has always been a medical procedure until the definition was hijacked and called murder. The day of the coat hanger must end. The choice is a medical one, not a moral one and must not be made by politicians, the Catholic Church or Terry Randall. Health care for all must include the special needs of women and abortion must be one of them. This is what freedom is all about and choice is one of them. Who to marry is another.; Reply to this comment


by thesevenveils November 8, 2009 5:04 AM EST: U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The freaking CATholic church is shaping a major law!!!! HERE THEY ARE THE SLAVE DRIVERS, BENDING CHOIR BOYS OVER Backwards, working their little tails off, and then are given the respect and allowed to speak for the majority of the nation? BAH! They might as well be the freakling Taliban forcing their warped views on people who don't agree with their backwards beliefs.

Sorry, no compromise to ANY RELIGIOUS interference with laws. The laws are supposed to based on logic and reason and not to place stop sign and blackholes for religious caveats.; Reply to this comment

by laxboy10 November 7, 2009 9:29 PM EST

Why do people care so much about abortion. People say the goverment should not be telling you what to do, they shouldnt tell you to or not to get an abortion.

In conclusion, as with many health issues, it is a PERSONAL decision, but one which everyone should have the option of making if they choose to.

Reply to this comment


by iceman076 November 7, 2009 11:37 PM EST: Yes, abortion (i.e. murder) is a personal choice, and my choice is that I should not have to pay for it. On the other hand, if enough liberals chose to abort their young, maybe liberals will eventually die off. THAT I might pay for.

by lrryerc6 November 7, 2009 8:36 PM EST

We should abort all the pro death advocates, then the problem would be solved

Reply to this comment


by dontknowitall November 7, 2009 9:22 PM EST: Your statement would benefit murderers etc. I have no doubt that were you to have had lost a child or family member to rape,molestation or murder you'd turn a 180.

by bann65 November 7, 2009 8:35 PM EST

You people and sweetie pie Obama will have to face God someday. You had better follow your conscience or you'll be shaking in your boots. Obama was in office less than 30 days when he signed an agreement, "behind closed doors" for us to kill babies overseas. This guy is EVIL.

Reply to this comment


by slownewsday-05 November 7, 2009 8:38 PM EST: Again, your beliefs only apply to those who share them.

I am not facing your god any day. Read Luke 17:21 - "god" isn't something outside you, even according to your holy book.

by dontknowitall November 7, 2009 8:17 PM EST

The U.S. conference of catholic bishops should be spending more time on homosexuality and pedophilia in their own ranks. This is why we have the separation of church and state. Abortion should be decided by the person and not the church or state.

Reply to this comment


by velma179 November 7, 2009 8:19 PM EST: by dontknowitall November 7, 2009 8:17 PM EST

Amen to that!


by velma179 November 7, 2009 8:14 PM EST: C-SPAN live coverage

They are voting on the Stupak "abortion" amendment -- I think the nays had it... "it will be postponed" is the only thing I heard clearly.; Reply to this comment

by bdwilson616 November 7, 2009 8:13 PM EST

Health care should address only health issues, not religious beliefs. There are people who believe in not keeping someone alive by extradordinary means. Should we stop health care that pays for respirators because someone believes it is wrong? In that case there are reigions that believe any medical assistance is wrong....I guess we shold just scrap the whole idea then, huh.

If you want abortion to be illegal, there are venues for you to pursue this. Don't try to attach this unrelated fight to leglislation that is needed.

Reply to this comment


by velma179 November 7, 2009 8:18 PM EST: I agree bdwilson616...

This legislation is TOO important for all Americans for it to be derailed for SPECIFIC Americans' concerns.