Pence May Budge on Abortion Rider

Politico reports:

As Democrats criticize House Republicans for risking a government shutdown to pursue their social agenda, two of the House’s leading abortion foes are leaving some room for possible negotiation on a controversial measure to end all federal spending for Planned Parenthood.

Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), the leading pro-life voice in the House, told reporters today that he is keeping his powder dry on whether he could live with a compromise on the sticky issue of eliminating funding for Planned Parenthood.

Smith, a former chairman of the New Jersey Right to Life Committee, called Planned Parenthood a system of “abortion mills” that has deceived the public about its true purpose. But when asked whether he could accept a final budget deal cutting some subsidies for the organization – but not all — he declined to answer, saying he wanted to hear more about the status of ongoing negotiations.

Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) also has been circumspect about prospects for his amendment that has moved to the center of the current funding battle. “The more that people learn about this….the more likely that we will succeed one day,” he said in an interview this week.