Blog - Stupak Abortion Amendment Likely to Fail in the Senate

Conservative Democrat Sen. Ben Nelson [NE] is planning to introduce an abortion funding amendment modeled after the Stupak amendment that was attached to the House health care amendment. Like the Stupak amendment (which you can read in the context of the House bill here), it would bar anyone buying insurance through the new Exchanges from purchasing a plan that covers elective abortions, even if they are buying the insurance plan entirely with their own money.

Nelson is hanging his vote on his amendment being adopted. “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 [the health care bill] off the floor,” he said yesterday.

But supporters of the amendment will likely not have the votes to break a Democratic filibuster, reports The Hill. “Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl (Ariz.) said he expected that all but a few Republicans would support” it. “But the amendment is likely to be subject to the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, and Kyl does not expect 20 votes on the other side to back the controversial change.”