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Stupak defends vote for healthcare bill

WASHINGTON, March 27 (UPI) -- Many anti-abortion groups that supported the "Stupak amendment" did so to kill the healthcare bill, not to prevent abortions, U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak said.

In an op-ed piece in The Washington Post, Stupak, D-Mich., defended his decision to vote for a final bill without the amendment. He said he had a choice: Voting against a bill that would become law without him or the course he took, voting for the bill after reaching an agreement with President Barack Obama for an executive order to ensure no federal funds would be spent on abortion.

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The amendment would have banned federal funds from being used either to pay for abortions or to subsidize or pay for insurance policies that cover abortions except in cases where pregnancies were the result of rape or incest or continuing the pregnancy threatened a woman's life.

After Stupak announced he would vote for the final bill because of the Obama deal, he was attacked by many of those who had rallied around his amendment. He cited Kathleen Parker, a conservative syndicated columnist who called him a "backstabber."

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"The true motives of many blogs and organizations claiming to be pro-life have become clear in recent days: to politicize life issues as a means to defeat healthcare reform," Stupak said. "One group even sent an e-mail to supporters saying they are 'working feverishly to stop this legislation from going forward.'"

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