ABC World News (12/8, story 3, 1:40, Gibson) reported that on Tuesday, "Senators rejected an amendment which would have restricted insurance coverage for abortions. The vote was 54-45 to kill the amendment."

        The AP (12/9) reports that "abortion opponents failed to inject tougher restrictions into sweeping healthcare bill, and Democratic leaders labored to make sure fallout from the issue didn't hamper the drive to enact legislation."

        The New York Times (12/9, A1, Pear, Herszenhorn), in a front-page article, reports that "the Senate action complicates the outlook for approval of the legislation. Mr. Nelson said, 'I don't want to be stubborn or close-minded,' but he hinted that with the defeat of his amendment, he could not support the overall bill. The normally more liberal House now has language in its bill that is more conservative, on abortion, than that of the normally more conservative Senate."

        McClatchy (12/9, Lightman) reports, "Because of Tuesday's vote, the Senate healthcare bill continues to allow health plans the option of covering elective abortions. If abortions are covered, the plan must establish separate accounts with private funds to pay for them." Sen. Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) said, "I believe we deal with this sensitive topic in a sensitive way. ... I believe what we have done is found the sensible center, and it leaves the decision in the hands of the patients and doctors, not politicians or insurance companies." AFP (12/9) also reports on the Nelson amendment's defeat.

        Sen. Nelson does not rule out supporting final version of Senate bill. The Washington Post (12/9, Murray, Montgomery) notes that six Democratic Senators "joined all but two Republicans," Sens. Olympia Snowe (ME) and Susan Collins (ME), "to support the tighter rules, but some Democratic abortion opponents -- including" Senate Majority Leader Reid -- "opposed the amendment as too far-reaching. Reid said the current Senate language, which would allow individuals who qualify for insurance subsidies to purchase abortion coverage with their own money, represented 'a fair middle ground.'" After the vote, Sen. Nelson said that "he would not rule out supporting the final Senate measure. 'Let's see what develops. One thing I've found is that the future sometimes can surprise you,' he said."

        The Washington Times (12/9, Haberkorn) notes that Sen. Nelson "said this week that his support for the bill was contingent on his abortion amendment passing," but Tuesday "pulled back from his earlier threat to support a Republican filibuster against the bill if his abortion amendment lost."

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