Pelosi Rejects Stupak's Abortion Deal

Nancy Pelosi may have lost Bart Stupak's vote today, but she's still got a chance of winning over some in his anti-abortion bloc. Pelosi rejected Stupak's idea of calling a separate vote to require stricter abortion language in the health care bill. Instead, she's holding out the "possibility" that President Obama would issue an executive order reaffirming that the bill won't pave the way for government-funded abortion, reports the Washington Post.

Stupak probably won't go for it, notes the New York Times, but others in his camp might, bringing Pelosi ever closer to her magic number of 216. "We'll have the votes when we bring the bill to the floor," she declared today. As for the idea of holding additional votes: "Not on abortion, not on public option, not on single payer, not on anything," she said. "The bill is the bill." (More Bart Stupak stories.)