Rep. Stupak: Health care has the votes whether anti-abortion amendment passes or fails

3:15 PM ET -- Rep. Stupak: Health care has the votes whether anti-abortion amendment passes or fails. Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) told reporters that regardless of the outcome of the vote on his amendment, which would severely restrict coverage of reproductive health issues, the House health care bill is headed for passage. He is whipping support for the amendment and estimates he has 225 votes. If he's right, the amendment will pass, and he predicted enough pro-life Democrats will vote yes on the final bill to put it over the top. But if it fails, he said, enough pro-lifers will have been satisfied to have had their vote on the floor that they'll turn around and support the final bill anyway.

Again, If Stupak is correct -- and there's no reason to think he's wrong -- then it's a done deal, and the bill will pass the House.

Stupak talked to reporters about yesterday's on-again-off-again negotiations, describing how he had come to a deal with Pelosi in the evening, only to have her call him back at 9:00 p.m. to say she had to walk away from it because the pro-choice base of the caucus wouldn't support it.

Instead, Stupak was offered the amendment that will be voted on later today. Stupak's tale confirms what the Huffington Post reported last night.

His amendment, Stupak noted, is in fact more restrictive than the language he had previously agreed to include in the bill. The pro-choice crowd, demanding the right to vote their consciences, Stupak said, overplayed their hand and look to be handing him a bigger victory. Stupak's amendment is extremely restrictive -- any individual or any business that gets any subsidy or tax credit -- which will be most people in the country -- will not be able to purchase a health care plan that covers abortion, even with their own money. They can, however, buy supplemental coverage from a separate plan. Stupak's amendment would represent the most significant rollback of reproductive rights in decades.

Is it even Constitutional?

"It may not be. I don't know," Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) told HuffPost. "But we're certainly not looking to resolve this in the courts." They may not be, but someone, somewhere, might be.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/07/house-health-care-vote-br_n_349468.html&cp

There are 246 Dem members who wanted to go through with discussing this bill.

10 dems voted against. If the 10 dems are off and we lost him...28 blue dogs on top of that..we're good.

Just wanted to add..excluding the issues with women. This is already a problem and will most likely get shot down. Well I hope to God it does. We'll see.

Jefferson~

Obama wouldn't have hauled his cookies down to the Hill.

It will probably be close, but by George, I think we've got it.