Reid stripped Stupak language from Senate ObamaCare bill

(By Ed Morrissey, Hot Air) - Let the games begin:

The Senate healthcare reform bill includes new language designed to prevent taxpayer money from financing abortions, an anti-abortion-rights Democrat said Wednesday.

Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.), who was briefed on the healthcare bill by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) in advance of a Wednesday meeting of all Senate Democrats, said he received assurances that his concerns about abortion had been met. …

Nelson emphasized he had seen no legislative language on abortion and specified that the provisions would not be the same approved by the House. Those provisions have triggered an outcry from pro-abortion-rights Democrats in both chambers, who vowed to strip them from any legislation that reaches President Barack Obama. …

Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), who supports abortion rights, said Reid’s new provisions would preserve the Hyde amendment while enabling people to buy insurance plans with abortion coverage on the exchange.

“We’re basically going to keep current law, which is what we ought to do,” Kerry said after the Democratic caucus meeting.