Obama, Democrats Say Fight for Pro-Abortion Health Care Bill Not Over
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 3, 2010
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — President Barack Obama and top Congressional Democrats say the fight to get the pro-abortion health care bill approved is not over. Though their options are now limited on how to get the bill through Congress, they continue to push the broad government-run measure.
At a town hall in New Hampshire on Wednesday, Obama said the battle for the bill is "not over."
“We just have to make sure that we move methodically and that the American people understand what’s in the bill,” Obama said.
“What I will not do is to stop working on this issue because it is the right thing to do for America,” Obama said. “You got to let your members of Congress know they shouldn’t give up.”
Obama also attacked Republicans who have been standing up to the pro-abortion health care bill.
“You’ve been sitting on the sidelines criticizing what we’ve got,” Obama said.
Also yesterday, Senate Leader Harry Reid said the Senate could not pick up the reconciliation process first — which is a controversial idea to try to get the House to approve changes to the pro-abortion Senate bill and have the Senate back the changes (which would likely not include stopping the abortion funding) by railroading them through without opponents having a filibuster right.
“We can’t go first,” Reid said. “I don’t know how procedurally we can start reconciliation.”
According to various sources, Reid hopes to have an idea next week on how to move forward.
“We had a discussion and we have a number of options,” Reid said. “We don’t have anything finalized yet.”
“We plan to do healthcare this year, and we plan to do it as quick as we can,” Reid said Tuesday.
Other Democrasts say there is little enthusiasm left for trying to approve the controversial bill.
“I don’t think you’ll find much enthusiasm, but there are people who believe it has to be done, whether it’s with enthusiasm or not,” said Sen. Evan Bayh, an Indiana Democrat. “The debate has become so polarized and so divisive that people are saying, ‘We’ve got to revisit this, but it will be out of a sense of obligation.’ ”
“We’ve spent a lot of time on this last year, and my sense is that most senators would like to move on to other subjects like jobs and the economy,” adde Democrat Mark Pryor of Arkansas. “But it depends on what form it comes back in.”
Meanwhile, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi plans to approve a smaller bill that focuses on the health care industry but may not have any bearing on abortion and abortion funding.
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