latimes.com/news/nation-and-world/la-na-health-senate19-2009dec19,0,7294156.story
latimes.com
Abortion deal in sight in Senate healthcare negotiations
By Janet Hook and Noam N. Levey
December 19, 2009
Reporting from Washington
With a critical vote looming this weekend, Senate Democratic negotiators closed in Friday night on a deal to persuade a lone Democratic holdout -- Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson -- to back the party's healthcare bill, after a marathon day of negotiations.
That would give Democrats the 60 votes they need to quash a series of Republican-led filibusters and pass a bill by Christmas.
Nelson, who has been pushing for tougher restrictions on federal funding for abortion, emerged from Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's office just after 9:30 p.m. following talks with Reid and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.), a leading supporter of abortion rights.
Nelson provided few details about the negotiations. It's "one of those situations where it's probably best for everybody to sleep on it tonight and talk again tomorrow," he said.
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