Health care bill rekindles abortion battle

Rep. Diana DeGette, Colorado Democrat and co-chairman of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus, said the idea that federal dollars would cover abortions is “patently false.”

“They’re interpreting the Senate language incorrectly,” she said. “Any federal money that goes to community health centers or anything else cannot be used for abortion.”

Much of the highly charged abortion debate within the larger conversation about health care reform has come down to interpretation.

Pro-choice lawmakers said the House bill didn’t fund abortion access with federal dollars. Pro-life lawmakers said it did. An amendment ultimately was approved - with the backing of a small group of Democrats and nearly all Republicans - that prevented any money in the entire bill from funding abortions.

Mrs. Pelosi opposed the amendment but voted for the bill with hopes that the language would be changed.

The Senate plan includes some abortion restrictions, but not a complete ban that pro-life advocates prefer. Neither abortion rights supporters nor opponents like the Senate language.

Mrs. DeGette said the Pro-Choice Caucus is examining the Senate bill and hasn’t determined how they would like to change it.

It’s unclear how the Senate language could be altered even if lawmakers agreed on the changes. Democrats are embarking on a plan to wrap up the health care bill using reconciliation, a complicated procedural tool that would circumvent the chance for a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

Sen. Kent Conrad, chairman of the Budget Committee and a key player in any use of reconciliation, told reporters Tuesday that he doesn’t see how any abortion language would fit that requirement.