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Nelson to offer Abortion Amendment on Senate Health Care

by Hugh Askew | December 2, 2009 at 06:19 pm

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Democratic Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska announced that he would offer an amendment to the Senate health care plan that would ban public funds from paying for abortions

Nelson says he will not vote for the current bill without his strong abortion language. Opponents to his amendment say that he lacks the voted to get it passed, and have vowed to oppose passage of any health care bill that does not pay for abortions.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid lacks the votes to pass the health care legislation without Nelsons support. Nelson's amendment would make the Senate version more closely resemble the House version of the bill that passed last month.

Opponents to to abortion restrictions gathering in Washington D.C. say that restrictions are not negotiable.

Nelson has a consistent record on pro-life issues, closely mirroring those of his home state.

WASHINGTON - Sen. Ben Nelson said today that he plans to offer an amendment to the Senate's health care bill that would mirror House-approved restrictions on federal funding for abortions.

"My Senate amendment would ban any public funds from paying for abortions under a new health care reform bill," Nelson said.

The Nebraska Democrat noted a recent poll showing Americans oppose federal funding for abortions. He said he will vote to block the bill if the abortion language in the bill is not changed.