Group of Bipartisan Lawmakers Fuels Abortion Controversy in Health Care Debate

A bipartisan group of lawmakers opposed to federal funding for abortions warned Wednesday that the House leadership's health care bill contains a "hidden mandate" that would allow taxpayer dollars to be used to end pregnancies.

Without additional amendments, they say, the legislation would mandate government funds for abortions by requiring every American to have a plan that meets "minimum health benefit standards."

The lawmakers pointed to similar problems when broad interpretations of Medicaid paid for abortions before the passage of the Hyde amendment.

"American taxpayers should not be forced to pay for abortion.... People can purchase that privately," said Rep. Joe Pitts, R-Pa.

Rep. Chris Smith, R- N.J. had stronger words for the bill, calling it "The greatest threat to mothers and unborn children since Roe v Wade."

The abortion debate is the latest controversy to hit the health care overhaul in a week that has seen Republicans sharpen their attacks and some Democrats start to waver on President Obama's top domestic priority.

Abortion is not mentioned in the 1,018-page bill that Democratic leaders hope will be approved by the last of three House committees this week.

Supporters of the legislation say that means the bill is neutral. But abortion opponents say the bill's silence is precisely the problem.

Unless it specifically prohibits federal funding for abortion, opponents say, it could be included in taxpayer-subsidized coverage offered through the health overhaul plan.

"We cannot support any health care reform proposal unless it explicitly excludes abortion from the scope of any government-defined or subsidized health insurance plan," a group of 20 Democratic representatives said in a June 25 letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

When the legislation was unveiled last week, it failed to include the language abortion opponents were seeking, so now they are going public. Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., who helped draft the letter to Pelosi, plans to join lawmakers of both parties Wednesday at a news conference to criticize the legislation.

The Supreme Court has established a woman's right to abortion, but federal law prohibits government funds from being used to pay for the procedure in most cases.

The Democratic health overhaul plan envisions setting up a new health insurance marketplace through which individuals and businesses could get coverage similar to what's now available for employees of large companies.

Government subsidies would be available for individuals and families making up to four times the federal poverty level. Abortion rights supporters say prohibiting plans in the new market from covering the procedure amounts to taking away a right that women now have.

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., is trying to find a compromise, but that may not be easy. Not only do abortion opponents want to block funding, they also want to make sure that the procedure is not included in the benefits package.

The lawmakers opposed to federal funding for abortions said Wednesday that they were wary of compromise legislation, saying that they want concrete steps rather than just promises.

In the Senate, Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus vowed that he would not let abortion controversies "embroil" the health care overhaul.

"Health care reform is not about that issue at all," Baucus, D-Mont., said Tuesday. He said the Senate plan would be "neutral -- status quo."

FOX News' John Brandt and The Associated Press contributed to this report.