Will Abortion Fight Kill Health Care Reform?

WASHINGTON (March 4) -- After a year of debate, it won't be the public option that derails health care reform. Nor will it be death panels. But it might be abortion.

A fight over the most divisive issue in American politics could deal the final, fatal blow to Democratic hopes for reform, just as President Barack Obama mounts one last push to pass major legislation through Congress. Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, a leader of anti-abortion Democrats in the House, said Thursday that he and as many as 11 other lawmakers would not vote for the Senate version of the health bill because its language restricting the use of federal funding for abortion is not as restrictive as that passed by the House. With Democrats expecting a razor-thin margin as it stands, Stupak's bloc could mean the difference between success and failure for a final bill.

In an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," Stupak said he and the other anti-abortion Democrats were "prepared to take responsibility" for the failure of the health care legislation if their demands are not met.

"I want to see health care," Stupak said. "But we're not going to bypass some principles and beliefs that we feel strongly about."

Stupak's stand on abortion has frustrated Democratic leaders for months. Before the House passed its version in November, he forced a vote on an amendment that added strict language prohibiting federal subsidies for abortion across the board. Although the amendment was approved, liberal Democrats in the Senate were appalled and negotiated a separate, less restrictive provision regarding abortion. The White House and Democratic congressional leaders say the matter is being overblown.

"This will not change the status quo on the policy of abortion," Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said in a separate appearance on "Good Morning America." "There will be no federal funding for abortions."

At a news conference later in the day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi appeared fed up by all the talk about abortion. "This is not about abortion," she told reporters, arguing that the bills under consideration were "abortion neutral."

"If you believe that there should be no federal funding of abortion and if you believe there should be no change in the policy and if you believe that we need health care all for Americans, we will pass the bill," Pelosi said.

The National Right to Life Committee has weighed in, calling the Senate version unacceptable to anti-abortion activists.

Because of loopholes in the granting of subsidies for private plans, the group argues, the Senate health bill "would ultimately result in substantial expansions of abortion." On the other side of the debate, abortion rights organizations like NARAL and Planned Parenthood oppose both the House and Senate versions of the abortion language as too restrictive.

The complicated process Democrats need to follow to pass a final bill may make the abortion stalemate even more of a threat. Under the current plan, the House would pass the Senate version of the health care bill without amendments, and then both chambers would approve a separate package of changes so that the Senate can pass them using the reconciliation method, which requires just 51 votes instead of a filibuster-proof 60. But because reconciliation can only be used to make budgetary changes, the abortion language might not be able to be changed through that route and could require the passage of a third bill.

A spokesman for Stupak told AOL News that the congressman "cannot vote for the Senate bill as written." For Obama and the Democrats, the health care headache drags on.