The Stupak amendment, an abortion compromise reached by Nancy Pelosi and conservative Democrats, helped the House to pass its health reform bill, but it has opened a divide among Democrats. Abortion rights advocates argue that the amendment goes beyond the long-standing Hyde Amendment which forbids spending of federal funds on abortions. The Stupak Amendment "doesn't allow abortion coverage in the public plan option except in the case of rape or incest or to save the life of the mother. It also doesn't allow private insurance plans that participate in the health insurance exchange to provide abortion coverage," writes Deborah Kotz for US News and World Report.
The President indicated in an interview this morning that the language of the House bill must change: "I laid out a very simple principle, which is this is a health care bill, not an abortion bill. And we're not looking to change what is the principle that has been in place for a very long time, which is federal dollars are not used to subsidize abortions. . . .There are strong feelings on both sides and what that tells me is that there needs to be some more work before we get to the point where we're not changing the status quo."
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