To move health reform bill, Dems make abortion agreement, start historic debate

Nov 9 2009

News outlets covered the late-night deal on abortion language in the House health care overhaul bill and looked forward to the debate and vote today.

The Wall Street Journal: The House opened debate on its health-care bill Saturday after Democratic leaders agreed to allow a vote on an amendment from antiabortion Democrats. The agreement early Saturday could break a stalemate over abortion that was threatening the bill's prospects. If the House approves the bill, it would be the first time a chamber of Congress has passed legislation aimed at guaranteeing near-universal access to health care" (Vaughan and Bendavid, 11/7).

The Associated Press: "Under the arrangement, Democratic Reps. Bart Stupak of Michigan, Brad Ellsworth of Indiana and other abortion opponents were promised an opportunity to insert tougher restrictions into the legislation during debate. The leadership's hope is that no matter how that vote turns out, Democrats on both sides of the abortion divide will then unite to give the health care bill a majority over unanimous Republican opposition."

"With Democrats' command of the necessary votes looking tenuous, Obama threw the weight of his administration behind the effort to round up support. He and top administration officials worked the phones to pressure wavering lawmakers" (Werner, 11/7).

Roll Call: "The deal hands a major win to abortion-rights opponents by green-lighting an up-or-down vote on a proposal by (Stupak and Ellsworth) to bar plans that offer abortions from new health insurance exchanges. The ban would extend to a public insurance option that House Democrats have included in their package. ... The amendment will likely pass with support from Republicans, forcing the majority of Democrats, who support abortion rights, to swallow hard in voting for the package on final passage. Democrats on the House Rules Committee who favor abortion rights made their discomfort clear early Saturday morning as they debated allowing the amendment" (Newmyer, 11/7).

Politico: The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops delivered a critical endorsement to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Saturday by signing off on late-night agreement to grant a vote on an amendment barring insurance companies that participate in the exchange from covering abortions. 'Passing this amendment allows the House to meet our criteria of preserving the existing protections against abortion funding in the new legislation,' the Bishops wrote in a letter to individual members. 'Most importantly, it will ensure that no government funds will be used for abortion or health plans which include abortion'" (O'Connor, 11/7).

CQ Politics: "The amendment will be one of only two permitted after the House conducts four hours of general debate and after House Democrats caucus with President Obama.The other amendment will be a GOP substitute. Republicans will also have the opportunity to try to attract Democratic votes and change the bill through a recommital motion. As of late Friday, at least 20 House Democrats had indicated in interviews and public statements that they plan to vote against the legislation (HR 3962). Twenty 'no' votes would leave the Democrats with a pool of 238 potential votes for the measure, or just 20 more than the 218 needed to guarantee passage. No Republican support for the legislation is expected. Twenty other Democrats said Friday they remained undecided" (Wayne, 11/7). 

The Washington Post: "'We're confident we're going to have the votes later today,' House Democratic leader Steny Hoyer said on MSNBC. 'There some disagreement on some issues but there's universal commitment to passing a healthcare reform bill.' The reform bill, Obama's top domestic priority, would lead to the biggest policy changes in the $2.5 trillion U.S. healthcare system since the creation of the Medicare health program for the elderly in 1965" (Whitesides, 11/7).