Sen. Casey Says He Will Work To Change Abortion Language In Senate Health Reform Bill

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 26 Nov 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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Antiabortion-rights Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) on Tuesday said he will try to change the abortion coverage provisions in the Senate health care reform bill, although he stopped short of saying he would oppose the legislation unless restrictions similar to those in the House version (HR 3962) are put in place, CQ Today reports. Casey said there is "work to be done" on the issue of abortion coverage, adding, "There's an obvious difference on where the House came down and where the Senate is."

According to CQ Today, the Senate bill would permit insurance plans offered in the proposed health insurance exchange to cover abortion services if they segregate federal subsidies from consumers' contributions and use only the private funds to pay for abortion coverage. The House bill includes an amendment by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) that bans any insurance plan, public or private, that receives federal subsidies from offering abortion coverage.

While he has not decided on a specific strategy, Casey said his focus during floor debate will be on reducing the number of abortions by increasing assistance to pregnant women through public programs. "The only other way to reduce the number of abortions ... is to help pregnant women so if they choose to have a child they can get the help and support they need," he said, adding, "I don't know what vehicle that will take, whether that will be one amendment or more than one amendment."

One other Democratic senator, Ben Nelson (Neb.), has threatened to vote against the bill unless additional abortion restrictions are included (Armstrong, CQ Today, 11/24).

Meanwhile, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) said on Monday that Senate Democrats will be working overtime to produce a final health reform bill by the end of the year, with a goal of completing health care reform by the State of the Union address, The Hill's "Blog Briefing Room" reports. Brown said in an interview with MSNBC that Democrats are "going to be working weekends, we're going to be working into the night." Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) "knows this, we need to stay in Washington starting Monday and do whatever it takes to get this bill past the Senate in December and to the president's desk prior to the State of the Union in January," Brown said. He added, "And that's absolutely our commitment" (O'Brien, "Blog Briefing Room," The Hill, 11/24).

Abortion-Rights Groups Plan Lobby Day Against Stupak Amendment

More than 40 progressive and abortion-rights groups have joined the Coalition to Pass Health Care Reform and Stop Stupak!, according to Politico's "Live Pulse" (Frates, "Live Pulse," Politico, 11/24). Abortion-rights groups have planned a Capitol Hill lobby day for Dec. 2 to urge members to oppose the Stupak amendment, CQ HealthBeat reports. The "Stop Stupak Day of Action" will include a rally on Capitol Hill urging lawmakers to ensure that the Stupak amendment is not included in any final health reform legislation (Norman, CQ HealthBeat, 11/24).

In a statement, the coalition said that the Stupak amendment "is a radical proposal that upends current law on abortion coverage in the United States," adding that it would "restrict abortion coverage by private health insurance plans in an unprecedented and dangerous manner" (Rhee, "Political Intelligence," Boston Globe, 11/24).

According to CQ HealthBeat, about 40 abortion-rights supporters in the House have said they will oppose final health reform legislation if it includes the Stupak amendment. Sixty-four House members voted to approve the Stupak amendment during the Nov. 7 floor debate (CQ HealthBeat, 11/24).

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