Pelosi: Abortion Issue Won't Sink Health Care Bill : NPR

Description

Pelosi: Abortion Issue Won't Sink Health Care Bill

A A

November 19, 2009

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday predicted that she can corral enough moderate Democrats to guarantee passage of health care overhaul legislation — even if it doesn't contain a controversial House proposal that would expand abortion limits.

In an interview with NPR airing Friday on Morning Edition , Pelosi said that the key will be separating House members who are looking for any way to kill the bill from those who, "in good faith," want to pass legislation that embraces the longtime practice of prohibiting the use of federal funds for abortion.

"I believe that there's plenty area for common ground," Pelosi told NPR's Renee Montagne. "We all agree that there will be no federal funding for abortion."

A compromise bill that would ultimately combine House and Senate plans "will be abortion neutral," she said.

Her comments came a day after Senate Democrats unveiled their health care proposal, which includes far less restrictive limits on abortion coverage than the House version.

In her interview with NPR, Pelosi also addressed President Obama's deliberations on how to move forward with the war in Afghanistan, saying she had advised her members to give the president "room to make his decision" before making their views known.

But she expressed deep concern that Afghan President Hamid Karzai, sworn in Thursday for a second term, has failed to prove that he's a "reliable partner" and has allowed systemic corruption to take hold, making American investment of lives and money unacceptable.

"How can we ask the American people to sacrifice our young people and pay ...

Original URL

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120587627

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=120587627