Ben Nelson on Health Care Bill: Abortion Languge 'Could' Decide his Vote

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) spoke with reporters hours before a vote on his amendment to the health care reform bill. Nelson's measure tracks nearly identically with a House-passed amendment from Rep. Bart Stupak, 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.

Over the weekend, Nelson told reporters, "I've said at the end of the day, if it doesn't have Stupak language on abortion in it, I won't vote to move it off the floor."

But on Tuesday afternoon, the senator moderated his language just enough to raise doubts over whether he would filibuster the health care bill if his amendment does not pass.

Below are Nelson's answers to reporters' questions at an impromptu hallway interview.

Q. People say you guys really need to finish by the end of the night. Do you think that's even possible?

A. I don't know.

Q. Will you be on board by the end of the night?

A. I don't know, I don't know. On board for what? And with what? There are a lot of unknowns here and all I'm trying to do is work with my colleagues to smooth out some of the insurance issues. Having had 26 years either in insurance regulation or in the business, I know something about it.

Q. On abortion, though, do you think that's what's going to ultimately decide your vote?

A. It could. It could.

Q. What if your amendment fails? Do you plan to continue in these talks to shape this bill or do you walk away?

A. I'm not ready to deal with the issue that it's going to fail. You can get yourself too far down a road on things that are all hypothetical, so I'm not going to get into hypotheticals.

Q. Do you think something other than the exact language of your amendment could satisfy you?

A. I depends on what it is. I don't want to be stubborn and close-minded. I have trouble imagining what it would be. There are other people with great imaginations, so perhaps they'll come up with something. My goal is to get the Nelson-Hatch amendment passed.

Q. Are you concerned that without your vote you could possibly block health care reform?

A. There are 59 others. This is about individual votes and whether you support something and the consequences that follow accordingly.