Can the Dems Reconcile on Abortion?

When the House and Senate conference to combine their health-care bills, there’s not expected to be debate on most issues—except for abortion. Activists on both sides of the issue oppose the Senate’s abortion compromise, and both abortion-rights activists and conservative Democrats in the House have indicated to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi that they reject the Senate’s language. However, without the current language, it’s unclear whether the Senate can hang on to the necessary 60 votes. Under the Senate plan, insurers could offer abortion coverage but people who enroll in such plans would have to write two separate checks, one for abortion-services coverage and one for everything else.