Leaders to skirt Dem abortion foes

WASHINGTON - House leaders have concluded they cannot change a divisive abortion provision in President Obama's health care bill and will try to pass the sweeping legislation without the support of ardent anti-abortion Democrats.

The approach would skirt a major obstacle for Democratic leaders in the final throes of a yearlong effort to change health care in the United States. But it sets up a risky strategy of trying to round up enough Democrats to overcome, not appease, a small but possibly decisive group of Democratic lawmakers in the House.

Democratic leaders are working to rally rank-and-file members around agreements on several complicated points, health insurance taxes and prescription drug coverage among them, and dozens of other sticky issues - all as Republicans stand ready to oppose the overhaul en masse.

"We will finish the job," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., wrote in a letter to his Republican counterpart describing the path ahead.

Said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa: "The stars are aligning for victory on comprehensive health reform. The end is in sight."

Democratic Rep. Henry Waxman of California, chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, said the leadership will press ahead without reworking the abortion provision adopted by the Senate. Abortion opponents say the provision falls short in restricting taxpayer dollars for abortion coverage.

Rep. Bart

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