House Dems Continue Health Reform Negotiations, Close To Deal On Abortion Coverage

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 04 Nov 2009 - 3:00 PST

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House Democrats are nearing a compromise over abortion language in the chamber's health care reform bill (HR 3962), CongressDaily reports. House leaders are hoping to attract enough support from moderate Democrats "to mitigate a threat" from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) that he will block the bill from coming to the House floor, according to CongressDaily (Hunt/House, Congres Daily, 11/3). Stupak said on Monday that he will "continue whipping my colleagues to oppose bringing the bill to the floor for a vote until a clean vote against public funding for abortion is allowed."

According to the Washington Post, the outcome of the negotiations "could be crucial" to determining if the legislation will pass, since "Democrats need the vast majority of their caucus to back the bill" and nearly all House Republicans have said they will vote against it. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) said, "We are making progress" on the issue, adding that an agreement has not been reached (Bacon, Washington Post, 11/3).

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) has been working on the compromise with Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-Ind.), who on Monday circulated language that would revise an amendment sponsored by Rep. Lois Capps (D-Calif.) without codifying Hyde Amendment language, according to CongressDaily. After reviewing Ellsworth's draft, Rep. Baron Hill (D-Ind.) said his concerns about abortion coverage in the bill were eased because "[i]t makes it clear that no federal dollars can be used for abortion" (Hunt/House, CongressDaily, 11/3).

According to the Post, the disagreement over abortion coverage focuses on proposed federal subsidies to help lower the cost of policies under new health insurance exchanges. The Capps amendment allows people who are eligible for subsidized coverage to purchase policies that cover abortion services. Insurers would segregate a portion of funds generated through employer or individual premiums from public funds to ensure that no federal money goes toward abortion (Washington Post, 11/30). Abortion-rights advocates say that the amendment would not expand access to abortion beyond what it is now, NPR's "Morning Edition" reports. Nancy Northup, president of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that this is "not at all what the reproductive rights movement had hoped for," adding that it is "not a win for women -- it's a compromise." Northup went on to note that about one in three U.S. women will have an abortion in her lifetime and that the procedure "should be a part of her reproductive health care."

Abortion-rights opponents claim that the amendment favors abortion rights, "Morning Edition" reports. Douglas Johnson, legislative director for the National Right to Life Committee, called the amendment a "sharp departure from decades of federal abortion policy" (Rovner, "Morning Edition," NPR, 11/3).

Next Steps in House, Senate

Although abortion remains one of the "unresolved issues" in the health reform debate, Democratic leaders are "confident they'll succeed" in passing the bill, the AP/Google reports (Werner, AP/Google, 11/3). House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other leaders have said they will allow the public 72 hours to view the bill before acting on a manager's amendment to the bill. As of Monday night, the bill had not been filed, so a vote could occur Friday at the earliest, CongressDaily reports (Hunt/House CongressDaily, 11/3).

In the Senate, policymakers are waiting for the final language and cost estimates of a bill authored by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and other leaders, the AP/Google reports. Reid may be unable to start debate on the bill until the week before Thanksgiving (AP/Google, 11/3). As a result, the Senate debate likely will be "slipping into December," CongressDaily reports. Reid said he does not know when the cost estimates will be ready (Edney/Friedman, CongressDaily, 11/3).

Catholics Remain Concerned Over Abortion Coverage

According to "Morning Edition," the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has not offered support for either the House or Senate versions of health reform legislation because of abortion issues, despite the Catholic Church's history of advocating for universal health care. Richard Doerflinger of USCCB said the group "want[s] health care reform very, very much" but cannot advocate for a bill that includes coverage for abortion services. He added, "There is a fundamental issue here about whether taking life should be treated the same way as supporting and healing life."

However, not all Catholics agree with USCCB's position on abortion coverage, according to Jon O'Brien, president of Catholics for Choice. O'Brien said a poll by his group found large majorities of practicing Catholics in the U.S. favor abortion coverage in health reform, and not just under the current restrictions of rape, incest or to save the life of the woman. Polls indicate "time and time again" that U.S. Catholics "believe in reproductive health care and see reproductive health care as a responsible part of health care," O'Brien said.

GOP Plans Events for Women

Meanwhile, Republican Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.), vice chair of the Republican Conference, is preparing a series of women-focused events every day this week to oppose Democrats' health reform efforts, Roll Call reports. All 17 Republican women in the House will participate in the events, which will include one-minute speeches throughout the week. The events also include speeches on Tuesday night; the launch of a health care video and a telephone town hall with female doctors and small-business owners on Wednesday; a blogger forum on Thursday; and a press event on Friday, Roll Call reports (Bendery, Roll Call, 11/2).

In related news, House Republicans on Monday said their "alternative" health reform bill had been sent to the Congressional Budget Office for scoring, CongressDaily reports. House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) would not offer specifics on what is in the bill and said Republicans "expect it to be ready in the next several days." According to CongressDaily, the GOP's bill is expected to be "more modest in scope" than the Democrats' by cutting provision such as assistance to individuals to help them purchase insurance. The bill also will not include language to prevent insurance companies from denying coverage because of pre-existing medical conditions (Hunt/House, CongressDaily, 11/3).

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