Sen. Nelson Hardens Stance On Inclusion Of Antiabortion Amendment In Health Reform

Main Category: Abortion
Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance
Article Date: 07 Dec 2009 - 1:00 PDT

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Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) on Thursday said that he would not vote to advance the Senate's health care reform bill unless it includes additional restrictions on the use of federal subsidies to purchase insurance plans that include abortion coverage, despite earlier statements that the issue was not a "make-or-break" situation, CQ Today reports.

Nelson is expected to introduce an amendment similar to one included in the House's bill (HR 3962) -- known as the Stupak amendment -- that would ban private and public insurance plans that receive federal subsidies from covering abortion services (Wayne, CQ Today, 12/3). Although Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) had said earlier that he hoped to have Nelson's amendment soon, Nelson said Thursday that he is still drafting its language (Pierce, Roll Call, 12/3). The Senate is now expected to debate Nelson's amendment next week at the earliest, CQ Today reports. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) is co-sponsoring the amendment (Hunter/Armstrong, CQ Today, 12/3).

Although Nelson's amendment is unlikely to receive the 60 votes needed to pass, it "creates a significant obstacle" to overcoming a Republican filibuster on the Senate's health reform bill, The Hill reports (Bolton, The Hill, 12/3). Democrats likely would need Nelson, who also has reservations about the public plan option, to support the bill to end a filibuster (Wayne, CQ Today, 12/3).

Reid on Thursday would not say if he would support a Senate version of the Stupak amendment, noting that Nelson has not completed the final language of his amendment, The Hill's "Blog Briefing Room" reports. Reid, who personally opposes abortion rights, said that "we have to see what [Nelson's] amendment is," adding that the Senate's "underlying legislation is different than the House" (Zimmermann, "Blog Briefing Room," The Hill, 12/3).

Reid also reiterated his request that the Senate hold weekend votes on health reform amendments to allow the chamber to complete action on the bill by the end of the year, CQ Today reports. While he did not specify the timing of any possible action, he said he would move to limit the bill's debate or file for cloture "when we're able to work out all the problems we've got with the legislation" (Hunter/Armstrong, CQ Today, 12/3). A total of 72 amendments -- 34 from Democrats and 38 from Republicans -- had been filed as of Wednesday (Scholtes, CQ Today, 12/3).

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