Abortion Measure Defeated in Senate

An amendment by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) to restrict direct or indirect funding for abortion in the health care bill failed by a vote of 54 to 45 Tuesday night.

Several senators crossed party lines on the vote. Democrats Evan Bayh (Ind.), Bob Casey (Penn.), Kent Conrad (N.D.), Byron Dorgan (N.D.), Ted Kaufman (Del.), and Mark Pryor (D-Ark) voted with Nelson and a majority of Republicans.

Maine Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe voted with the Democrats.

Nelson's language tracked nearly identically with a House-passed amendment from Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich), which says people who buy insurance through proposed health insurance exchanges, and use government subsidies to help them do it, would not be allowed to buy a policy that covered abortion.

Before the Senate voted, Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is a pro-life, said that abortion is a "matter of conscience" for him, but that he would not support Nelson's effort because it would go further than existing federal law, which already prohibits direct federal funding of abortion.

"No one should use the health care bill to expand or restrict abortion," Reid said. "This is not the right place for this debate."

Nelson, who is also pro-life, agreed that the health care bill should not be a vehicle for changing existing abortion laws. But he argued that the health care bill as written would change federal law. "The bill will open a new avenue for public funding of abortion," Nelson said.

Although Nelson told reporters on Sunday that he would not support the health reform bill without restrictions on abortion funding, by Tuesday he had modified his statement to say the abortion issue "could" be a reason for him to oppose the bill.

Negotiations on the bill continued Tuesday night.