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House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi is trying to head off an abortion dispute so it doesn’t derail a bipartisan permanent solution to the flawed Medicare pay formula for doctors, which Congress for years has been trying to repeal and repair. But she faced sharp words Friday from abortion rights groups who have been her traditional allies. ... Included in the tentative deal outlined Friday is $7.2 billion for community health centers — but it’s tied it to language banning the federal funding of abortions at the clinics, the so-called Hyde Amendment. ... Pelosi circulated a “Dear Colleague” letter Friday, saying that the abortion language regarding the community health clinics is basically how the centers operate now and that it’s important to get them the funds. (Pradhan and Mershon, 3/21)

Abortion politics in the U.S. Congress, already holding up a human trafficking bill and a key Obama administration nomination, are now also complicating bipartisan talks on a deal that would spare physicians from Medicare pay cuts. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and another senior Democrat, Senator Ron Wyden, say they're worried that an emerging House of Representatives deal to rewrite Medicare's flawed doctor-pay formula will include anti-abortion language. One of the country's most divisive issues, abortion has been a flashpoint in Congress for decades. Democrats on Friday expressed concern that Republicans may be mounting a renewed anti-abortion push. (Cornwall, 3/20)

The charged politics of abortion have returned with a vengeance in the Senate, creating a bitter impasse over a human trafficking bill that has galvanized outside groups ahead of the 2016 elections. Senators for two weeks have debated a provision in an anti-trafficking bill that Democrats charge would expand the Hyde Amendment, which for decades has restricted the use of federal funds for abortions. The debate over the provision has been unusually rancorous, with Democrats accusing Republicans of misleading them about whether the language was in the bill. (Carney, 3/21)

The Senate's 100 members don't agree on much. They agreed they wanted legislation to help the victims of sex trafficking. Then the bill got caught up in the emotional and uncompromising politics of abortion. Now the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act is stalled, its outlook uncertain. Democrats are insisting Republicans remove an abortion funding provision. Republicans are refusing to do so and demanding that Democrats back down. (Werner, 3/21)