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16 Members Cited Anti-Abortion Language in Reasons for Voting for HC Bill

By Philip Klein on 11.9.09 @ 4:36PM

Following Saturday night's vote, I posted a list of the 42 members of the House who voted for the Stupak amendment to bar taxpayer funding for abortions and then in favor of the main bill. In the list below, I've narrowed it down to 16 members who specifically cited the anti-abortion language in their subsequent press statements explaining their final votes. Keep in mind that the final vote was 220 to 215, and if Nancy Pelosi would have lost any three of these members without picking up support elsewhere, she would not have been able to pass the bill. And while it's true, as some have argued, that Pelosi may have released some vulnerable Democrats to vote against the bill once she secured enough votes, it's unlikely that if she had sufficient support to pass the bill without the anti-abortion language, that she would have risked the fierce backlash among pro-choicers. Today, 41 Democrats vowed to vote against the final bill if the Stupak language isn't stripped.

While we can't know for sure how many of the 16 members listed below would have voted for the bill anyway, it at least gives us some idea of how many members are at least sensitive enough about the abortion issue to tout the adoption of pro-life language. All of the members listed below are Democrats, with the exception of Joseph Cao, the lone Republican who voted for the bill but has emphatically stated that he could not have done so without the Stupak amendment. I linked to their press release in each case, and put an asterik next to the names of those who co-sponsored the Stupak provision.

Marion Berry (AR-1)
Sanford Bishop (GA-2)
Chris Carney (PA-101)
Joseph Cao (LA-2)
Jerry Costello (IL-12)
Kathy Dahlkemper* (PA-3)
Joe Donnelly (IN-2)
Steve Driehaus (OH-1)
Brad Ellsworth* (IN-8)
Baron Hill (IN-9)
Paul Kanjorski (PA-11)
Marcy Kaptur* (OH-9)
Daniel Lipinski* (IL-3)
Alan Mollohan (WV-1)
James Oberstar (MN-8)
Bart Stupak* (MI-1)