Democrats backing away from promises on abortion over in the health care bill

This could be an interesting battle especially with Nebraska's Ben Nelson saying that the health care has to have the Stupak provision in the Senate bill.

The Stupak amendment passed, with the votes of 64 Democrats. That cleared the way for some wavering moderates to vote for the broader bill, in turn allowing it to win final passage, 220-215. The bishops, who have been clamoring for universal health coverage for decades, both when the idea was popular and when it wasn't, applauded.

Almost immediately, though, the Democrats' progressive wing and abortion-rights groups began pressuring party leaders and the White House to roll back the abortion plank as the bill moves to the Senate. Their argument: The Stupak amendment amounted to a tightening of current abortion provisions, because it bans abortion services from not only a government-run plan, but from policies bought with a combination of government subsidies and citizens' personal funds.

Other lawmakers said, in effect, that they voted for the Stupak amendment but didn't really mean it, because they expected the amendment to be stripped out later, either in the Senate or in a conference committee. . . .