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Pelosi Says Abortion Compromise Was Necessary

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Nov 10, 2009 1:22 pm US/Pacific

Pelosi Says Abortion Compromise Was Necessary

SEATTLE (CBS 5 / AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: House Democrats clap for Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), center, at a press conference after a vote on health care on Capitol Hill Nov. 7, 2009. The House of Representatives passed the health care reform bill 220 to 215.
Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

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U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Monday that while she is against anti-abortion language in the House version of the health care bill, the amendment was necessary for the bill to pass.

Pelosi spoke during a visit Monday to Seattle's Swedish Medical Center. She said the anti-abortion language "would have been in the bill one way or another," so bill backers thought it would be better to include it as amendment than as a provision that could jeopardize the entire measure.

The California Democrat said she and other backers of the bill will continue searching for common ground with abortion opponents.

On Saturday, the House passed the far-reaching plan for overhauling the U.S. health care system on a 220-215 vote Saturday. The bill is projected to expand coverage to 36 million uninsured, resulting in 96 percent of the nation's eligible population having insurance.