Rep. Bart Stupak has become the unofficial leader of a small but powerful bloc threatening to derail President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.
A dozen socially conservative Democrats say they won't support the legislation without a prohibition on paying for abortions with federal money. Stupak wrote a provision to their liking for a House bill approved last November, but the Senate replaced it with wording he considers unacceptable.
Opposition from his faction could doom the measure and cripple Barack Obama's presidency.
Some Democrats in his northern Michigan district are so angry that he's facing a rare — and long-shot — primary challenge.
He insists he favors a health care overhaul and that a deal is within reach.
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