Ben Nelson plans on introducing a bill "as identical to Stupak as it can be," according to CongressDaily (sub. req.). The amendment will receive the support of Bob Casey, according to CongressDaily's Anna Edney, who had a brief conference call with bloggers Tuesday afternoon.
The Hill also reported on Nelson's intentions.
Nelson, a key swing vote on the overall bill and an opponent of abortion rights, specifically said he would base his amendment on language authored by Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) that passed on the House's healthcare bill -- and ignited a firestorm among Democrats and supporters of abortion rights that quickly spread to the Senate debate....
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) included limitations on abortion funding in the bill before the upper chamber but Nelson had previously indicated it did not go far enough to prevent taxpayer funding of abortion services and the preservation of the so-called Hyde amendment, a law already forbidding the federal government from paying for abortions.
"The only thing I'm talking about is the Stupak plan, which is referred to as an abortion issue but I think the president was right when he said this bill's not about abortion. It's about how you account for federal dollars to stay consistent with Hyde and the long-term federal policy of not using tax dollars or federal monies to fund abortions," Nelson said.
Nelson won't get 60 votes to pass this amendment. What's more, he's threatening to filibuster if his amendment isn't adopted.
The Senate health care bill does not provide federal money for abortion, maintaining the status quo. But like Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) and a sizable bloc of conservative House Democrats, Nelson says that's not good enough. Nelson said he plans to introduce an amendment to the Senate bill roughly resembling Stupak's.
Would he vote for a final bill if he can't get that language included? "No," he told reporters.
Reconciliation, anyone?