Congressman: Stupak, Pro-Life Democrats Hold Fast on Health Care, Abortion
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
January 14, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — A prominent pro-life Republican congressman says Rep. Bart Stupak and his group of pro-life Democrats are holding firm on abortion and health care. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin says Stupak and 10-12 lawmakers are firm that they will vote against the health care bill if abortion funding is included.
The pro-life community is counting on Stupak and his pro-life colleagues who voted for the health care bill to change their vote if his ban on abortion funding is removed.
Over the last few weeks since the Senate approved its version of the bill that contains massive abortion funding and other pro-abortion threats, Stupak has repeatedly promised that he and his group will vote no.
In a policy speech delivered last night at the Center for Constitutional studies and Citizenship, a project of Hillsdale College, Ryan confirmed Stupak is holding his ground.
Ryan told the conservative publication Human Events he talked with Stupak earlier in the day about the status of the health care bill.
“In my judgment Bart has been holding firm for his language, and from what I can tell, I see Bart holding firm for his language,” Ryan said. “And he says he has 10 or 12 people who will vote with him.”
Connie Hair, a pro-life columnist for the publication, says she asked Ryan if the 10-12 pro-life Democrats were in addition to the 39 Democrats who already voted against the bill.
“Yes,” Ryan said. “So my assumption is right now they’re trying to replace those votes.”
As Hair explains, that means the pro-abortion Democratic leadership doesn’t have enough votes to replace Stupak and his colleagues and Rep. Anh Cao, the Louisiana Republican who was the only GOP member to vote for the health care bill but who has said he will vote no if abortion funding is included in the final version.
"If Democrats lose 10 to 12 of their votes over the abortion issue, they have to turn 7 to 9 of their original 39 no votes into yes votes to pass their health care boondoggle. And that’s just the controversy over the abortion issue," she notes.
"Stupak co-authored the amendment language barring federal funding of abortion in the House-passed bill and is insisting that the final bill include the language. The problem for Democrats is that the Senate refused to pass the status quo ban on the federal funding of abortion," she continues.
Hair says the battle to stop abortion funding is at its zenith now.
"Most want unfettered access to abortion on demand funded by federal tax dollars in the bill. They know that if they don’t get the funding passed now, it’s unlikely they will get it passed in the foreseeable future, if ever," she concludes.
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