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Pelosi: No "Common Ground" Yet on Abortion Language

By Philip Klein on 11.8.09 @ 12:11AM

In a news conference following the House health care vote, Speaker Nancy Pelosi was asked to react to the passage of the Stupak pro-life amendment and the harsh criticism coming from pro-choice groups.

“We have sought over the course of the development of this bill common ground in many areas, this being one of those,"  Pelosi said. "We did not reach the common ground yet that we hoped to achieve, therefore we had an amendment on the floor. We will continue to seek common ground.”

Translation: don't worry liberals, it's unlikely that the Stupak language will make it into the final bill.

Meanwhile, in a separate news conference, Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur, one of the co-sponsors of the Stupak amendment, said: “This bill would not have moved forward in the House without the votes of the members who supported our amendment. And indeed I think two-thirds of those on our side who voted for this ultimately voted for passage.”

UPDATE: Democratic Rep. Brad Ellsworth said: “I’m very proud to be able to vote for the bill, but couldn’t have had this legislation not been part of it.”