Abortion Could Kill Health Reform

Majority leader bemoans 'delay tactics'

(NEWSER) - The House may not vote on its health care reform bill tomorrow after all, thanks to Democrats' squabbling over abortion and spending, Steny Hoyer said today. “We’re very close,” the majority leader insisted, but “clearly things happen. Delay tactics can be employed.” Hoyer acknowledged that right now, Democrats don’t have the 218 votes they need to pass the bill. More»

(NEWSER) - Anti-abortion groups are launching a full-scale assault on health reform plans, contending that current proposals include an “abortion mandate” and would spend taxpayer money on the procedure, Politico reports. The first claim is based on a plan to federally mandate a basic set of procedures insurers must offer. Abortion isn’t considered likely to end up in that package, but foes want it explicitly excluded. More»

Kept up fight for comprehensive reform as other Dems wavered

(NEWSER) - President Obama may be the one history remembers for pulling off the biggest domestic policy reform in decades, but Nancy Pelosi "emerges from this battle as the real powerhouse in Washington," Julian Zelizer writes for CNN . Wielding both a "clear ideological agenda" and the "pragmatic political tactics" to round up votes, Pelosi is the clear heir to Ted Kennedy's legacy, Zelizer writes. More»

Historic measure advances after late deal-making

(NEWSER) - Cheers erupted on the floor of the chamber as the House passed the Senate health care reform bill tonight, 219-212, after a late compromise on abortion funding gave Democrats the votes they needed to advance the historic measure. The vote followed 9½ hours of contentious debate that wrapped up with an impassioned speech by Nancy Pelosi. "We may not have chosen the time, but the time has chosen us," said the speaker, who compared the legislation to Social Security and Medicare. More»

Obama will issue executive order reiterating Hyde Amendment

(NEWSER) - President Obama will sign an executive order forbidding the use of federal funding for abortion, and Bart Stupak and his anti-abortion allies will vote to pass health care reform, the Michigan Democrat announced this afternoon. The shift means the measure is almost certain to pass when it's voted on tonight. Stupak insisted that he supported reform, but "there was a principle that meant more to use than anything, and that was the sanctity of life," reports Talking Points Memo . More»