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Democrat Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan told the Associated Press this week that he was "more optimistic than I was a week ago" about including an abortion-funding ban in health care reform - sparking speculation by some that his new-found optimism was merely a prelude to his “caving in” or compromising on the issue.
But the lawmaker has clarified that he does not intend to back down on his standard for the language, nor would he be satisfied if that language came in a later "fix" bill, after the Senate bill makes it to the President's desk.
In response to those who suggested that Stupak might have been considering throwing in the towel on abortion funding, the congressman told The Weekly Standard Tuesday, "Obviously they don’t know me."
"If I didn’t" cave in November, he said, "why would I do it now after all the crap I’ve been through?"
Stupak asserted that "there's no such thing as a compromise" on the abortion-funding language in the bills. Stupak, the author of the Hyde-amendment restriction on abortion funding in the House health care bill, has repeatedly confirmed that he and a cadre of about a dozen pro-life Democrats would vote down the Senate health bill if it did not include the same language.
