He did not address whether or not he would ultimately withhold support from any plan that did not include the Hyde prohibitions.
In a brief conversation after the public program when I thanked Representative Lipinski for his support for pro-life positions on both abortion and life-destructive stem cell research he said he intends to continue to address both as matters of principle although he does expect to be attacked more aggressively than here-to-fore on these stands because of the combined pro-death positions of city hall and the locally rooted federal administration. The congressman's legislative director also expressed Rep. Lipinski's committment to these positions and the expectation that the position will be attacked as well. Although this was not pursued in the public meeting at all neither Rep. Lipinski nor his legislative director professed awareness of the "Dear Colleague" letter to Speaker Pelosi signed by 19 pro-life Democrats last week.
