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StumbleHarry Reid: With abortion vote, health care bill ‘respects life’
Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2009 | 2:57 p.m.
WASHINGTON -- In an unexpected move, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid this afternoon voted to table a pivotal abortion amendment that he said had no place in the health care debate.
Reid, a Mormon who has long been against abortion, took to the floor to give an intense speech about his position and his belief that the health care bill maintains the status quo on the issue.
"Our health care bill now before this body respects life," Reid said in a nearly 20-minute address. "This bill is about access to health care, not access to abortions."
Reid's record on abortion issues has often infuriated abortion opponents who believe he should use his position as leader to do more to advance their cause.
His vote today will likely become campaign fodder in his difficult re-election campaign next year.
The leading Republican opponents also oppose abortion and national abortion opponents will likely go after Reid for his vote.
Yet Nevada's libertarian streak has suggested that candidates must tread carefully on the abortion issue, particularly after voters approved a measure a decade ago making Nevada an abortion rights state.
The amendment from Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska would have restricted abortion coverage in the health care bill.
The motion to table the bill was approved 54-45.
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This woman voter will now work overtime for the Senator's re-election!!!
Reid is lobbying for votes and will lie to do get them. We know Obama wants govt. paid abortion, Pelosi wants govt. paid abortion, all the lib left want govt. paid abortion including Reid. So shifty Reid just needs to advance the bill where he can then slip it back in behind closed doors, and he can claim that he tried.
It's more of the same from harry. Trying to have it both ways. Harry has total control of this bill and could have written the amendment into the bill if he had any desire. This was not about "allowing" abortion, this way about requiring others to pay for it with their tax dollars.
How did women get the right to a free abortion paid for with taxes of those so totally opposed to it? People like harry, that's how.
Reid is "against" abortion personally.
A large majority of Nevadans are against Federal funding of abortion.
A large majority of Americans are against Federal funding of abortion.
Who did Reid vote with?
I guess he wants to be the Senator that represents the DailyKos.
I'm glad the republican party wants to have less intrusion into peoples lives, expcept for forcing their morals on everyone.
Typical hypoctritical GOP stance.
Ireland had this problem for many years caused by the church, what good did it do?
Unwanted children sometimes from rapes
Women dying after aborting illegally in back streets
Children that never had a hope of survival were born and allowed to suffer
Just because he is a Mormon does not give him rights to push his beliefs onto other people.
There are two ways to approach the abortion issue:
1) If you don't believe in abortion, don't get one;
2) Voting on abortion rights should be the provence of WOMEN only, since it is them who would be impacted.
If abortion is outlawed completely, then only the rich will be able to get a safe abortion. The poor will be getting back-alley abortions like they did before Roe v. Wade made abortions legal.