Casey in spotlight over abortion

The New York Times examines Sen. Bob Casey's (D-Pa.) tough position on healthcare and abortion:

The reputation that came with the Bob Casey name is now turning the senator into a pivotal if reluctant player in one of the most contentious debates in the health care overhaul: how to avoid using taxpayer money for abortion while extending insurance subsidies to millions of Americans. As the only senator committed to remaking health care and opposing abortion, he is the lone senator actively working for a compromise that might defuse the issue, a position that has made him a special target of attacks.

Casey has reportedly discussed banning the public option from paying for abortions, removing a provision requiring that at least one plan in every market cover abortion, and strenghtening the accounting rules in the currentl bill that separate funds to make sure federal dollars don't cover abortion. (Pro-lifers consider that last provision simply  a "money laundering scheme.")