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Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Dem Split Over Abortion Imperils Health Bill


Bloc could withhold support for legislation over fears of governmental role

While House leaders are moving toward a vote on health-care legislation by the end of the week, enough Democrats are threatening to oppose the measure over the issue of abortion to create a question about its passage.

House leaders were still negotiating Monday with the bloc of Democrats concerned about abortion provisions in the legislation, saying that they could lead to public funding of the procedure. After an evening meeting of top House Democrats, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (Md.) said, "We are making progress," but added that they had not reached an agreement.

The outcome of those talks could be crucial in deciding the fate of the health-care bill. Democrats need the vast majority of their caucus to back the bill, since nearly all congressional Republicans have said they will oppose the legislation.

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4 comments:

Anonymous said...

SWteny Hoyler may not be available after his vote next year or so.

Anonymous said...

Abortion is a legal medical procedure. To remove the coverage from the bill would be a slippery slope.

Anonymous said...

I'm a left-leaning Independent. I support doing something to tackle health care. I also believe in a woman's choice. But you need to pay for your own "choice" to abort the baby. And while we're at it, make sure the transgender crew pays for their own operations and treatment (you know what I mean). I don't want to pay for nobody's viagra or plastic surgery (except for that needed after an accident or to correct natural defects like cleft pallets). Seems pretty common sense to me.

Anonymous said...

Has anyone thought about offering a plan that simply provides minimum coverage (doctors visits, prescriptions, specialist tests). Require people to purchase their own insurance for disastrous accidents or if they have catastrophic illness. Seems like you would create a low-cost gov. plan that provides the preventive care that lowers the cost for serious illness.