A vote was expected on the legislation yesterday, after Obama's scheduled midmorning trip to the Capitol complex to make one final pitch for its approval. The bill is designed to spread coverage to tens of millions who now lack it and ban insurance industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.

Under the arrangement, Reps. Bart Stupak, Brad Ellsworth and other abortion opponents were promised an opportunity to insert tougher restrictions into the legislation during debate on the House floor.

The leadership's hope is that no matter how that vote turns out, Democrats on both sides of the abortion divide will then unite to give the health care bill a majority over unanimous Republican opposition.

The plan emerged from hours of meetings presided over by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and involving lawmakers on both sides of the abortion issue and officials from the U.S. Conference on Catholic Bishops.

Separately, Pelosi and the leadership sought to ease concerns about illegal immigrants among Hispanic holdouts on the legislation.

"We're very close" to having enough votes to prevail, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said in a midday assessment, although he cautioned at the time that a scheduled Saturday vote could slip by a day or two and sought to pin the blame on possible Republican delaying tactics.

"Nice try, Rep. Hoyer, but you can't blame Republicans when the fact is you just don't have the votes," shot back Antonia Ferrier, spokeswoman for the Republican leader, Rep. John Boehner.

Hours later, Democrats were still trying to get them.

In a midnight-hour appearance before the House Rules Committee, Stupak said he hoped the House would pass a ban any abortion benefit from being offered in a government-run insurance option that is envisioned under the bill, except in instances of rape, incest or when the life of the mother was in danger.

Separately, he said that he and his allies wanted a similar ban on coverage under comprehensive policies offered by private insurers in a federally regulated exchange that would be created. Individuals would be able to buy supplemental abortion coverage as long as they used their own money, and not federal subsidies designed to make insurance affordable.

Stupak also said attempts during the evening to reach a compromise that both sides could support had ultimately collapsed.

"I think we have a fundamental disagreement in this issue. That's a reality," Rep. Henry Waxman, a supporter of abortion rights, said after hours of closed-door talks on the issue. Federal law currently prohibits the use of federal funds to pay for abortions except in the case of rape, incest of situations in which the life of the mother is in danger.

In a struggle that combined the fate of Obama's signature policy initiative and a 2010 campaign issue, bipartisanship was not an option.

Republican leaders boasted that all 177 House Republicans stood ready to oppose the US$1.2 trillion bill, which would create a new federally supervised insurance marketplace where the uninsured could purchase coverage.

Consumers would have the option of picking a government-run plan, the most hotly contested item in the legislation and the basis for the Republican claim that Democrats were planning a government takeover of the insurance industry.

Democrats said their bill was designed to spread coverage to millions who lack it, ban insurance industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions and restrain the growth of health care spending nationally. The Congressional Budget Office said that if enacted, the measure would extend coverage to 96 percent of all eligible Americans within 10 years.

Obama and others in his administration spent part of the day lobbying intensely for its passage. Rep. Jason Altmire, a second-term Democrat, said he received calls during the day from the president, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Education Secretary Arne Duncan. Their message was "this is a historic moment. You don't want to end up with nothing," he said.

Altmire added his callers emphasized the legislation would change once it left the House, but if it's defeated now the drive to enact sweeping changes would be over for the foreseeable future. He said he remained undecided on his vote.

Several Democrats have already announced their opposition, most of them moderate to conservative members. Democrats hold 258 seats in the House and can afford 40 defections and still wind up with 218, a majority if all lawmakers vote. The White House issued a statement of support for the measure, saying it "meets the president's criteria for health insurance reform: It assures that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care that is there when they need it and does so without adding a dime to the deficit." The controversy surrounding illegal immigrants remains "a work in progress," Rep. Nydia Velazquez, a New Yorker and chairwoman of the Hispanic Caucus, said after a midday meeting in Pelosi's office.