Apparently, a group of Democrats are threatening to block the healthcare bill over abortion. They want to place an amendment into the bill that would exclude abortion coverage from the government-backed program. There are 18 of them planning to block the rule if Pelosi wont allow them to win adoption of this amendment.
http://blogs.cqpolitics.com/...
I say give it to them for a few reasons.
First of all, Democrats need every vote possible and to lose on this because of a stupid issue like abortion is just plain ridiculous. Second, the American public is strongly against the government paying for abortions. We are at the mercy of blue dogs and Conservative Democrats, like it or not. They are the reason why we have a majority in the House. They have to get elected in very pro-life districts and getting them to vote for this bill is crucial.
If Pelosi and other Democrats dont back down to this demand, which I think is fairly reasonable and the bill fails because of it, it will be the fault of pro-choicers who will not bend enough to get this bill through. Just give these 18 Democrats what they want and then get the bill passed. We have no other choice.