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From © The Washington Post
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Anti-abortion Democrat Kildee says he will vote yes on health care bill |
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March 17, 2010By Peter Slevin |
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CHICAGO - Anti-abortion forces who oppose President Obama's health-care overhaul suffered a significant defection Wednesday when Rep Dale E. Kildee (D-Mich.) announced that he would vote in favor of the proposal.
Kildee, describing himself as "a staunch pro-life member of Congress," said he is confident that the Senate bill under consideration would preserve a 33-year-old ban on federal funding for abortion and would provide insurance to millions of people who need it.
"We must not lose sight of what is at stake here - the lives of 31 million American children, adults and seniors - who don't have health insurance," Kildee said in a written statement. "There is nothing more pro-life than protecting the lives of 31 million Americans."
Rep. Bart Stupak, a fellow Michigan Democrat and Kildee ally, contends the Senate's language on abortion is not strong enough. He has vowed to marshal as many as a dozen Democratic votes against the measure.
"Some people are saying we have to vote for the Senate bill. That ain't going to happen," Stupak told The Post earlier this month.
Rep. Tom Perriello (D-Va.), an abortion foe who backed Stupak's approach when the House passed its version of health care reform last year, also announced this week that he could support the Senate language. The bill would allow people receiving federal subsidies to buy health insurance that covers abortion, but they would have to write a separate check for the abortion coverage.
Perriello stopped short of saying that he would vote for the final bill. The proposal would prevent federal tax dollars from paying for abortions, he said, and contains new programs "likely to reduce the number of abortions in this country in ways that move beyond politics toward a real impact on the culture of life."
A consortium representing 59,000 Catholic nuns distributed a letter to Congress on Wednesday urging passage of the health bill. Taking a position in opposition to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the group urged what it called a "life-affirming 'yes' vote" for a bill that is "a crucial next step in realizing health care for all."
"Despite false claims to the contrary, the Senate bill will not provide taxpayer funding for elective abortions," stated the letter, signed by more than 50 religious leaders. "It will uphold longstanding conscience protections and it will make historic new investments -- $250 million - in support of pregnant women."
The group called the Senate measure "the real pro-life stance, and we as Catholics are all for it."
The National Right to Life Committee has said that a vote for the measure would be a "career-defining pro-abortion vote." Five Republican lawmakers, led by Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), scheduled a press conference for Thursday to oppose the Senate bill on the basis of the abortion language. |
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