ABORTION A KEY ISSUE IN SENATE HEALTH-CARE DEBATE - AT 5:53 P.M. ET:   The upcoming debate over health-care "reform" in the Senate promises to be bitter, with no result guaranteed.  You need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster in the Senate, and the Dems may not have the votes, now or at any time.

Abortion is shaping up to be a key issue for some senators:

A key Democratic senator said Tuesday that he won't vote for an overhaul of the health care system if the bill does not clearly restrict federal funding for ending pregnancies.

The comments from Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska were a sign that the abortion dispute that nearly derailed the House health care bill will play a critical role in the Senate.

Nelson told Fox News that he's "very pleased that the Stupak amendment passed in the House," a reference to a proposal by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., that would toughen restrictions on federal funding for abortions.

COMMENT:  And there are some Democrats in the House who are threatening to vote against the final version of the bill, if it ever emerges from a Senate-House conference, unless funding for abortion is included.

We were given the impression, last weekend, that socialized medicine was just around the corner, and some members of the intellectual establishment were walking on air and waving their little red books.  It may have been hot air.  This bill has a long way to go.

November 10, 2009