Stupak says he is ‘surprised’ by attention to his anti-choice amendment

Congressman Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Menominee, says he is surprised how much his amendment to federal health care reform legislation to ban payments for abortion has garnered.

The Marquette Mining Journal reports that Stupak said in an interview with Media Meet, a WNMU production, he did not expect the furor.

“Am I surprised it got this much traction? Yeah. I’d rather talk about the benefits of health care,” Stupak said. “It’s not fun going against your party. It’s not fun standing up to leadership. There’s no pleasure in this. But this is a principle I just couldn’t compromise on and neither could most members of the House.”

Stupak’s amendment was attached to health care reform legislation on a vote of 240-194. Stupak says during the interview that while the bill was in committee he tried to to get congressional colleagues to keep the federal restrictions on abortion funding in the reform bill.

“Before this battle ever started – as you know I sit on the Energy and Commerce Committee where this legislation basically came through – I went to leadership and I said, … ‘current law is no federal funding for abortion – leave current law like it is,’ ” Stupak said. “Don’t add, don’t take away, just leave it like it is and let’s talk about health care. Unfortunately, leadership decided to try to require taxpayers to pay for abortions, contrary to current federal law.”

And while Stupak says the abortion debate could “scuttle” health care reform legislation, he himself told a gathering in Cheboygan earlier this year that is he had a chance to vote on an amendment to ban abortion and that amendment failed, he would still support health care reform.

The effect of the U.P. lawmaker’s amendment has been galvanizing on both sides of the abortion issue, with some pro-choice advocates already raising to fund a primary challenge to Stupak in 2010.