Did the ‘Stupak Bomb’ Explode?
When the health care reform bill passed the House in November, I reported that anti-abortion rights groups thought they’d pulled a number on Democrats by backing Rep. Bart Stupak’s (D-Mich.) anti-abortion funding amendment instead of demanding that conservative members kill the bill outright. In a Friday interview with CNSNews, Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) looked back and agreed with the pro-life activists.
“„I want to give great credit to the pro-life Republicans and Democrats who took a stand in the House of Representatives on the traditional language that was encompassed first in the Hyde Amendment and then in the Stupak-Pitts Amendment – so, I think it played a critical role.
There was some anger from libertarian-minded activists that Republicans didn’t kill the bill back in November — pro-life groups argued that Democrats would have found the votes anyway, and that Supak-Pitts would cause trouble for the majority down the line. It looks like a smart strategy.
