Bart Stupak News Archives

Senate Democrats will return to Washington Monday to begin a long-awaited floor debate on the health-reform bill they hope to pass before Christmas.

The furor over abortion and health care has brought fresh scrutiny to the nation's Catholic bishops, who've emerged as formidable lobbyists but who face virtually none of the lobbying or disclosure rules that apply to the rest of Washington.

Success in any long-running campaign breeds complacency; first comes euphoria, then relief, later forgetfulness.

In the early 1950s, a coal miner's daughter from rural Kentucky named Louise McIntosh encountered the shadowy world of illegal abortion.

The outcome of the health care reform legislation in the House demonstrates that while the Republicans don't have the votes to stop it, the Catholic Church has the votes to pass it.

With the House debate on health care at its hottest, the U.S. Catholic bishops issued a stunning ultimatum: Impose an absolute ban on tax funds for abortions, or we call for defeat of the Pelosi bill.

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy's recent dispute with Providence Bishop Thomas J. Tobin may have made headlines around the world, but neither man is likely to play a major role in settling the big public policy issue at the root of their feud.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid speaks about healthcare reform legislation during a news conference at the Capitol on Thursday.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 26 Nov 2009 - 4:00 PST Antiabortion-rights Sen.

CNN's Rick Sanchez misrepresented the pro-life Stupak Amendment to the House Democrats' health care plan on Monday's Newsroom.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 25 Nov 2009 - 4:00 PST The Wall Street Journal reports that abortion-rights groups are mobilizing to keep a provision that would toughen abortion restrictions out of a Senate health care reform bill.

Congress is closing in on a historic overhaul of the US health-care system, decades in the making, that would extend coverage to millions of Americans, curb insurance company abuses, and potentially rein in health costs.

On Saturday November 7, the House of Representatives voted to pass the Affordable Health Care for All Americans Act and set the ball rolling for the Senate to take up its version of the reform bill last week.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 18 Nov 2009 - 6:00 PST rate article Several newspapers recently included opinion pieces and an editorial regarding the House's approval of Rep.

Pro-life leaders expressed disappointment with Senate Democrats who advocate protecting unborn children after the upper chamber voted Nov.

NEWS RELEASE CONGRESSMAN BART STUPAK 1ST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT OF MICHIGAN ************************* Stupak bill to limit phosphorus, address algae blooms in Great Lakes WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak has introduced legislation to limit domestic cleaning products, such as laundry detergents and dish washer soap, from containing more ...

In an effort that has produced heated public feuds as well as significant changes in proposed health care legislation, religious leaders are zeroing in on followers of their faith in Congress to make sure that taxpayer money will not be used to fund abortions.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance ; Medicare / Medicaid / SCHIP Article Date: 17 Nov 2009 - 3:00 PST Newspapers continue to report on the Stupak amendment to the House health bill and how it will affect access to abortion.

In the vote on health care reform offered by the House Democratic leadership, women were given the status of potted plants.

House passage of a sweeping anti-abortion amendment has set off a wave of soul-searching and finger-pointing among abortion rights activists - many of whom thought they'd found a safe harbor when Democrats won the White House and big majorities in Congress last year.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance ; Cervical Cancer / HPV Vaccine Article Date: 18 Nov 2009 - 4:00 PST The following summarizes selected women's health-related blog entries.

Success in any long-running campaign breeds complacency; first euphoria, then relief, later forgetfulness.

GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES http://www.gp.org For Immediate Release: Monday, November 16, 2009 Contacts: Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624, cell 202-904-7614, mclarty@greens.org Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805, starlene@gp.org Greens blast the anti-choice Stupak Amendment in the Democrats' health care bill, ...

At the dawn of the Obama administration, pro-life Democrats believed they had finally gotten their place at the table.

Conflicts over Rep. Bart Stupak's antiabortion amendment to the House health reform bill have helped put the issue of abortion rights at "center stage" in Massachusetts' special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Sen.

Washington -- The fight over federal funding for abortion moved to the Senate on Thursday as opponents targeted provisions that are not as restrictive as one written by a Michigan lawmaker into the version passed by the House.

Sen. Barbara Mikulski says of the Senate bill wording: "The abortion language would not be the language that I would write ... but I do think that this is a sensible position that we could accept." Robert Giroux / Sen.

WASHINGTON - Let's dispense with three fallacies swirling about the question of abortion coverage in health care reform.

Because an outrageous amendment was attached to the House health reform bill, it gives hope to the notion that the disastrous so-called health reform legislation in Congress will die.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 19 Nov 2009 - 6:00 PST The inclusion in the House health reform bill of an anti-abortion amendment sponsored by Michigan Democratic Rep.

But the 2,074-page document significantly expands access to medical care for Americans who currently lack coverage, contains a modest public option, bars discrimination by insurers against Americans with pre-existing medical conditions and gets remarkably good marks from the Congressional Budget Office.

Depressed Democrats Polling in Ohio and Connecticut spells trouble for Democrats.

Rep. Bart Stupak , recently introduced the '' Online Age Verification and Child Safety Act '' , which would require mandatory online age verification for "any pornographic website accessible by any computer located within the United States to display any pornographic material, including free content that may be available prior to the purchase of a ...

Hey C Streetya ain't a church, so pay your taxes Residents of the C Street Christian fellowship house will no longer benefit from a loophole that had allowed the house's owners to avoid paying property taxes.

So let me see if I understand you correctly, mainstream Democrats: Rep. Bart Stupak , a longtime opponent of health care reform, has decided out of the goodness of his heart to construct a well-written amendment to the health care bill that would bring pro-choice and pro-life Democrats together and ensure its passage.

Four hundred more Michiganders have added their names to a national registry of about 150,000 people who believe they were exposed to contaminated water at the Camp Lejeune military base in North Carolina, bringing Michigan's count to 3,700. One of them is Kathleen Armstrong, 50, a Detroit native now in Redford Township.

Click here to see how top political bloggers responded to these questions. Q: Would Democrats be helped or hurt politically if Congress enacts health care reform legislation containing abortion restrictions similar to those passed by the House? Democrats Helped 23% Hurt 31% Not much impact 44% Don't know 3% Helped "While the abortion provision ...

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 16 Nov 2009 - 1:00 PST "Women Democrats have taken an awful lot of hits for the team lately," such as voting for President Obama instead of Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton in 2008 and allowing the Obama administration to place the Paycheck ...

Editor's Note: This story was originally posted on AlterNet . They lead a church that claims to stand on the side of the sick and the poor, the meek who shall inherit the earth.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 13 Nov 2009 - 2:00 PST Senate Democrats are preparing for a fight over abortion coverage when floor debate begins on the chamber's version of health care reform legislation, CQ Today reports.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 16 Nov 2009 - 1:00 PST "There are principled stands against abortion," but "there's nothing principled about" Rep.

Taxpayers currently provide deep subsidies for health insurance plans that cover abortion - a little-recognized fact responsible for much of the angst over an anti-abortion amendment attached to the House health care bill.

For weeks, the Catholic Church has asked its U.S. parishioners to work toward ensuring that tough language restricting federal funding of abortion is included in healthcare overhaul legislation.

HEALTH CARE Stomping On Women's Rights On Saturday, one Republican joined 219 Democrats in the House of Representatives to pass sweeping health care reform legislation, a $1 trillion bill that the Congressional Budget Office says would not add to the budget deficit and would expand health insurance to 36 million Americans.

Thirty-nine Democrats voted against the House version of health-care overhaul that passed on Saturday.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance ; Women's Health / Gynecology Article Date: 11 Nov 2009 - 5:00 PST printer friendly view / write opinions Two editorials and an opinion piece on Tuesday discussed an antiabortion amendment by Reps.

After the House passed its health care bill last weekend, debate exploded over an amendment by Rep.

The amendment, authored by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., went beyond preventing the proposed government-run plan from covering abortion to restrict federal subsidies from going toward private plans that offer abortion coverage.

In the push for health care legislation, a new yet familiar face emerged on Capitol Hill today in an attempt to rally Democrats -- former President Bill Clinton .

Red Mass Group blogger Garrett Quinn told me on Monday that he was 5 years old when the Berlin Wall came down.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele has offered his support to a Democratic congressman from Michigan backing an abortion-related amendment to a House version of a health care bill.

Rachel Maddow runs down the list for us of C-Street family members who also voted for Bart Stupak's anti-abortion amendment yesterday.

It was late Friday night and lawmakers were stalling for time. In a committee room, they yammered away, delaying a procedural vote on the historic health care legislation.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 12 Nov 2009 - 3:00 PST Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley -- one of four candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the state's U.S. Senate seat -- said she opposes the House health care reform bill because of restrictions on federal ...

Democrats last week came to terms with a lobbying force of unexpected influence in the health care debate: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, a central element of the Roman Catholic Church in America.

The sudden spasm of intense debate over abortion on Capitol Hill this week threatens not only to stall the passage of health care legislation, but also to shatter the delicate cease-fire that has governed the abortion issue during the Obama era.

I am a pro-choice liberal Democrat. I believe the Hyde Amendment, passed in 1977, which forbids the expenditure of federal tax dollars to fund abortions, directly or indirectly, is unfair and wrong.

Democrats are hardening their stances on both sides of the abortion issue in a battle that may threaten plans to overhaul the U.S. health-care system.

Is it worth sacrificing health care reform for ideological purity on abortion? That's the question Democrats are facing after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to avoid derailing health care legislation, reluctantly accepted an amendment offered by Michigan Democrat Bart Stupak that prohibits people who receive any federal health care subsidies from ...

The Republican National Committee offers its employees insurance coverage for elective abortions, the Politico reports .

Senator fears House-passed bill goes too far. By CHRISTINIA CRIPPES ccrippes@thehawkeye.com Pundits long have speculated the Senate's version of health reform will veer less from the status quo than its House counterpart.

WASHINGTON a ' The call came in from Rome, just as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her top lieutenants were scrambling to round up scarce votes to pass their sweeping health overhaul.

Millions of American women will face tough choices about abortion coverage if restrictions in the House health care bill become law, both sides in the abortiondebate agree.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 11 Nov 2009 - 3:00 PST President Obama in an ABC News interview on Monday indicated that he is uncomfortable with abortion restrictions voted into the House health care reform bill and that he is encouraging Congress to revise them, the New York Times ...

Furious liberals on Monday threatened to derail the massive healthcare overhaul bill to protest a last-minute deal over insurance coverage of abortions that had secured passage of the legislation in the House.

Blogroll Archives Declaring Independence podcast feed YearlyKos 2007 Video of speech on Dover and the Future of the Anti-Evolution Movement Audio of Greg Raymer Interview Posted on: November 11, 2009 9:30 AM, by Ed Brayton Even with the White House firmly behind it and the House already passing it, health care reform still could be scuttled ...

By Julie Ardery and Bill Bishop, DailyYonder.com , Guest Writer, 11-09-09 39 Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives opposed the Democrat-sponsored bill to change the nation's health insurance system.

Democrats have been showing a fresh determination to make Republicans' near-unanimous opposition to a national health care overhaul - and its implications for women - the GOP's Achilles heel during next year's midterm elections.

After a controversial amendment to restrict abortion was approved as part of the House healthcare bill over the weekend, senators are grappling with the abortion language in their legislation.

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 09 Nov 2009 - 2:00 PST Although there "is very little to like about private health insurance as it exists today," it "does have one advantage over health insurance funded by the federal government" in that women can "use it to pay for an abortion," ...

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama now has significant momentum behind his quest for health care reform, after Speaker Nancy Pelosi delivered a majority of Democrats in favour of a bill that passed the House of Representatives in a special session on Saturday night US time.

The health care overhaul passed by the House of Representatives over the weekend was almost scuttled by one issue: abortion.

U.S. Reps. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., and Joseph Pitts, R-Pa. American women will pay the price for the Democratic dithering that allowed Saturday's passage of the Stupak-Pitts amendment, a worm virus inserted into the House healthcare reform bill with surgical precision.

It looks like Michael Michaud just lost his political cover for backing Nancy Pelosi's $1.2 trillion government healthcare takeover.

Sunday, November 08, 2009 at 5:12 p.m. President Barack Obama says it's now up to the Senate to take the baton from the House and pass a bill aimed at overhauling the nation's health care system.

Listen Live Just two days after a historic win on health care legislation in the U.S. House, Democrats were aiming fire at each other in a battle over abortion that could realistically endanger efforts on sweeping health changes in the Congress.

On November 7, 2009, one Republican congressman voted in favor of health care reform bill H.R. 3962.

House Democrats moved to clear one of the last hurdles to a historic debate on legislation to overhaul the U.S. health system, agreeing to a demand by 40 lawmakers to allow a vote on restricting funds for abortion.

House Energy and Commerce Chairman Henry Waxman said yesterday there is 'no guarantee' that an amendment approved by the House on Saturday that prohibits federal funding of abortion in the health care bill will be retained in the final version of the bill.

Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington - The House kicked off a contentious debate on healthcare legislation as Democratic Party leaders appeared confident they had enough votes to bring the measure to the floor later today.

It will be interesting to see how long Speaker Nancy Pelosi 's coalition survives.

Bart Stupak and Rep. Joe Pitts That Would Prevent Federal Funding Of Abortion In Democratsa Health Care Experiment.

Rep. Betsy Markey voted against a health-care reform bill backed by President Barack Obama and the House Democratic leadership Saturday night, citing concerns over the cost of the bill.

TO HEALTH, NATIONAL AND POLITICAL EDITORS: Bill WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, the House of and Lipinski amendment to the "Affordable Health Care for America Act" . The amendment maintains the current policy of preventing federal funding for abortion and for benefits packages that include abortion.

The bipartisan abortion amendment passed during Saturday's health care debate was co-sponsored by Rep.

"We will pass health-care reform." Obama told the lawmakers they should approve the legislation now so he can sign a bill by the end of the year, White House spokesman Bill Burton said.

In this Oct. 29, 2009, file photo House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Md. speaks during a news conference about health care on Capitol Hill in Washington.

A bipartisan coalition sought to impose stricter abortion limits on insurance sold under a new healthcare bill Saturday, hoping to leave their imprint on legislation otherwise crafted largely by more liberal lawmakers.

Where are we on the abortion standoff? Still fighting, from all reports. Politico reports that leadership has twisted arms in the vast majority of the caucus which is pro-choice, and Stupak won't be the poison pill .

In an encouraging development, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has been forced to agree to a vote on fellow Democrat Bart Stupak's amendment that would prevent the health-care legislation from leading to widespread federal funding of abortion.

Thursday, November 05, 2009 at 11:56 a.m. MARQUETTE -- The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is better known to most as President Obama's plan to stimulate the economy.A It's been a hot topic, to say the very least, but now that the funding is available, folks are interested in how they can get their hands on some of the cash.

The question of abortion coverage in the health care bill has bedeviled top Democrats for weeks.

Main Category: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Also Included In: Public Health Article Date: 06 Nov 2009 - 4:00 PST As House Democrats move towards a weekend vote, they must resolve a series of outstanding issues, The Hill reports.

The sweeping health care overhaul package before Congress is under an 11th-hour attack over a pair of emotional issues, abortion and immigration, that are complicating Democrats' efforts to piece together the coalition they need to pass the bill.

Washington -- House leaders continued to work Tuesday to satisfy demands from some Democrats that health care legislation specifically bar the use of taxpayer money for abortions.

Eighth District U.S. Rep. Brad Ellsworth , who owns a 100 percent Pro-Life voting record, has pledged to withhold his support for the pending healthcare legislation now being considered by Congress unless his concerns about taxpayer funding for abortions are addressed.

Would abortions be easier or harder to obtain under the health care overhaul legislation that the House of Representatives is likely to consider later this week? It depends on how one interprets the bill.

Rep. Bart Stupak speaks to students on steps of Capitol. The leading pro-life Democrat in the House of Representatives said he has spoken with the White House and House Democratic leaders in recent days about his amendment to explicitly prohibit abortion funding in the health care reform bill, but there is still no agreement, and he still intends ...

Nancy Pelosi is hoping to pass the House version of Obamacare in a vote this Friday, but funding for abortion could derail the whole thing : While House leaders are moving toward a vote on health-care legislation by the end of the week, enough Democrats are threatening to oppose the measure over the issue of abortion to create a question about its ...

" Some U.S. Health Insurers Deny Coverage to Abuse Victims, White House Notes ," Patricia Zengerle, Reuters ' "Front Row Washington" : During a webchat advocating health reform legislation, White House domestic policy adviser Valerie Jarrett said that it is legal in some states for insurance companies to deny coverage to victims of domestic ...

Main Category: Abortion Also Included In: Health Insurance / Medical Insurance Article Date: 04 Nov 2009 - 3:00 PST House Democrats are nearing a compromise over abortion language in the chamber's health care reform bill , CongressDaily reports.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer House Majority Leader Rep. Steny Hoyer dodged a question about whether it is morally right to force taxpayers to pay for any part of a health insurance plan that covers abortion, which the House health care bill does, according to FactCheck.org, the Congressional Research Service, and even pro-life fellow ...

Struggling to finish their big health care legislation, House Democratic leaders signaled Tuesday that they were prepared to make several changes to the bill to satisfy abortion opponents, including many Democrats, who had threatened to block it.

Controversy erupts over the feds' decision to offer terrorism suspects the H1N1 vaccine - ahead of pregnant women A Guantanamo Bay detainee's arm hangs outside his cell.

The issue of abortion coverage in the House health care reform bill continues to divide Democrats as House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer prepares to move the bill to the floor, CQ Today reports.

As health overhaul bills head toward the House and Senate floors this month, the divisive issue of abortion is threatening to derail them.

The Pentagon will offer the H1N1 vaccination to detainees at the U.S. facility at Guantanamo Bay, officials there said Friday.

House Democratic leaders have an ambitious agenda this week as they work to resolve some of the most difficult disagreements surrounding their health reform overhaul.

In the uphill battle to reform Health Care, the latest firestorm comes after Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker, announced the newest version of this bill which clearly extends federal funds for abortions.