The WH & Dem leaders seem willing to give Sen Ben Nelson just about anything to win his support.

[Are_grits_groceries]

A Race to Win One More Vote for Health Bill
WASHINGTON — The White House and Senate Democratic leaders seem willing to give Senator Ben Nelson, Democrat of Nebraska, just about anything he wants to win his support of major health care legislation. Anything, that is, but the item at the top of Mr. Nelson’s wish-list: air-tight restrictions on insurance coverage for abortions.

The bid to win Mr. Nelson’s support has become a race against the clock. The Senate majority leader, Harry Reid of Nevada, has developed plans for a series of votes beginning at 1 a.m. Monday and round-the-clock Senate sessions intended to meet his deadline of completing the health care bill before Christmas.

Other Democrats, liberals as well as centrists, have not yet committed to vote for the bill. And the abortion provisions are just one of numerous concerns that Mr. Nelson has expressed about it.

But the biggest obstacle seems to be his demand for tighter restrictions, which are being resisted fiercely by a bloc of senators who support abortion rights.

Mr. Nelson on Thursday issued a statement saying a compromise on abortion language drafted at his behest was “not sufficient.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/health/policy/18health.html?_r=1&hp

The WH & Dem leaders have had their hand forced by that bloc of senators who support abortion rights.
Nelson wants the Stupak amendment. The Hyde amendment has been sufficient for a long time, but a group of MEN and the Catholic Bishops see this as an opportunity to close any method for a woman to get an abortion if she enters the insurance plan.

They can't even use their private funds. In addition, the restrictions are so onerous that they may force an insurance company's hand and push them to deny any coverage for all abortions. I'm sure this fits their agenda because it is one more item they won't be liable for.