UNDATED (AP) - There's an unusual public split between U.S. Roman Catholic bishops, nuns and hospitals over abortion in the health care overhaul. That could undermine the church hierarchy's influence on the debate and give anti-abortion Democrats the political cover they need to vote for the bill.
U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opposes the Senate bill up for a House vote this weekend. The conference president warns that some forces are trying to use the rift to push the legislation through Congress.
The disagreement among Catholics has to do with whether the bill would allow federal funding of abortion.
The U.S. bishops believe it does and said they "regretfully" oppose the bill even though they have been pushing for health care reform for more than four decades.
But the Catholic Health Association, which represents 600 hospitals, and about 60 Catholic nuns from various orders and groups disagree and urged Congress to pass the bill.
That unusual break with the hierarchy is influencing at least one anti-abortion House Democrat. Representative Henry Cuellar of Laredo says "you've had Catholic hospitals ... a group of Catholic nuns ... I am almost there" on supporting the Senate bill's provision on abortion. Cuellar is a Catholic who voted for an earlier House bill with tougher abortion funding prohibitions the bishops backed.
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