Vice President Joe Biden is facing a barrage of criticism for saying he understands and will not second guess China's "one child" policy, a policy that human rights groups say leads to forced abortions and sterilizations.

Biden was telling a Chinese audience about efforts to cut the federal budget in the United States when he introduced the idea of China's efforts to restrict population growth.

“Your policy has been one which I fully understand -- I’m not second-guessing -- of one child per family," Biden said during a speech Sunday at Sichuan University in Chengdu, China.

"The result being that you’re in a position where one wage earner will be taking care of four retired people.  Not sustainable," he added. "So hopefully we can act in a way on a problem that's much less severe than yours, and maybe we can learn together from how we can do that."

Christian conservatives and Republicans criticized Biden for signaling acceptance of the controversial policy.

"China’s one child policy has led to the great human tragedy of forced abortions throughout China, and Vice President Biden’s refusal to ‘second-guess’ this horrendous policy demonstrates great moral indifference on the part of the Obama Administration," said Gov. Rick Perry of Texas, a candidate for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

"Americans value life, and we deserve leaders who will stand up against such inhumanity, not cast a blind eye.”

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he was "deeply troubled" by Biden's remarks. He said China's "reprehensible" one-child policy "has resulted in forced sterilizations and coerced abortions and should not be condoned by any American official."

Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America, a conservative group. Said that Biden's "approval of China’s one-child policy, which uses forced abortion to enforce the law, crosses the lines of ignorant and wrong.

"Then to suggest that the United States should learn from China’s policy, like forcing its citizens to have only one child, to help manage debt, is an insult to the basic American values of life and liberty."

A spokeswoman for Biden said the critics have it backwards, that Biden was pointing out the Chinese policy is wrong.

"The Obama Administration strongly opposes all aspects of China’s coercive birth limitation policies, including forced abortion and sterilization," said spokeswoman Kendra Barkoff.

"The Vice President believes such practices are repugnant.  He also pointed out, in China, that the policy is, as a practical matter, unsustainable.  He was arguing against the One Child Policy to a Chinese audience.”

Rep. Bart Stupak of Michigan, the embattled leader of the Democrats' anti-abortion forces during the health care debate, is expected to announce Friday he will not run for re-election.

Stupak told the Associated Press the abortion controversy was not a major factor in his decision. He is to speak at a press conference later Friday in Marquette, Michigan.

 Stupak, 58, who was not expected to have an easy time winning re-election, to a 10th term had become a favorite target of Republicans, particularly those in the conservative Tea Party movement, which launched an ad campaign against him.

And he faced a primary challenge from former local official Connie Saltonstall, who had backing from abortion rights groups.

Democrats, though, wanted Stupak back. President Barack Obama reportedly asked him to run again. And House of Representatives leaders were also urging him to try again.

But the veteran lawmaker, usually gregarious and personable, appeared fatigued as the long health care fight wore on. In November and again in March, he was at the center of last-minute negotiations to find language acceptable to the approximately two dozen House Democrats opposed to abortion, Democrats that leaders badly needed to win passage of the bill to overhaul the nation's health care system..

The last-minute deal last month involved an executive order from President Barack Obama reaffirming the government's stance. Federal funding is barred except where the life of the mother is in danger or she has been a victim of rape or incest.

Stupak's agreement with the administration assured passage of the health care bill--without his approval, the bill probably would not have passed.

Stupak, a former Michigan state trooper, was first elected to Congress in 1992, representing the 31 counties of upper Michigan. He became chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's oversight and investigations panel, a high-profile subcommittee that look into issues like security breaches at nuclear power plants and child pornography.

Republicans were jubilant Friday about Stupak's decision. "After selling his soul to (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi, it appears that Bart Stupak finally found the courage to tell her no," said GOP congressional committee spokesman Ken Spain.

House of Representatives Democrats picked up another important vote from an anti-abortion Democrat Sunday, as Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, said she'll vote yes.

No big votes Saturday on health care are likely, but there'll be lots of intrigue, cajoling and maybe some last-minute deals as Democrats try to get the 216 votes needed to pass the overhaul legislation.

Here's what to watch:

1. House Rules Committee plans to meet at 10 a.m. The committee, dominated by allies of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is expected to approve a two-tier plan for debate and votes Sunday.

First, the House would vote on the rules, rules that would say legislation the Senate passed Dec. 24 is deemed passed. Next, the House would vote on changes to that bill, called reconciliation. It's expected the House would convene Sunday at 1 p.m., and aim for final votes by 6 p.m.

2. Anti-abortion Democrats, a bloc of holdouts who could make or break the bill, is circulating a plan that would toughen Senate language on abortion. They're talking about including it as a "correction" to the Senate bill.

That's a tough road, though. Even if the House goes along, that would mean the Senate would have to approve the plan, and that's unlikely since it could be filibustered. And 60 votes are needed to stop a filibuster.

3. President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet with the House's 253 Democrats Saturday afternoon. But the more important development at that meeting could be a letter from Democratic senators promising to act on reconciliation. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., is to appear at the caucus with a letter; his office will not discuss its contents.

If the House passes reconciliation, the measure would go to the Senate, which is expected to take it up next week.

Anti-abortion Democrats are "holding firm," said Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., the group's leader, reitereated Friday--and that's worrisome news for party leaders who badly need their votes.

"I want to pass health care, but there's a principle we do not want to cross," Stupak said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

The House of Representatives Sunday plans to consider health care legislation passed Dec. 24 by the Senate, which contains less restrictive langauge on abortion than the bill approved by the House Nov. 7. It's highly unlikely that language will change.

If the Senate bill is approved by the House, members would consider a second package of changes to the bill. But that is also unlikely to have any abortion measure.

Stupak suggested the political remedy could be other legislation, saying "That's one may, maybe. But we still have to deal with the Senate."

Democrats need 216 votes to pass legislation Sunday. While the party controls 253 of the currently-filled 431 seats, 39 Democrats voted no in November. Stupak estimates about a dozen colleagues share his concern about abortion.

The heads of major Catholilc women's groups, representing 59,000 Catholic sisters in the United States, Wednesday voiced strong support for the Senate version of health care change--even though it has less restrictive abortion language than its House of Representatives counterpart.

"While it is an imperfect measure," the groups said in a letter to members of Congress, "it is a crucial next step in realizing health care for all."

The groups explained, "We have witnessed first hand the impact of our national health care crisis, particularly its impact on women, children and people who are poor.We see the toll on families who have delayed seeking care due to a lack of health insurance coverage or lack of funds with which to pay high deductibles and co-pays.

"We have counseled and prayed with men, women and children who have been denied health care coverage by insurance companies," it added. "We have witnessed early and avoidable deaths because of delayed medical treatment."

The House is expected to vote on later this week, or at least deem as approved, the Senate bill, which passed that chamber Dec. 24. A separate bill would then make some changes, and need approval of both Houses.

Abortion is a major controversy, and about a dozen Democrats have expressed concern about Senate language, which is less restrictive than the House.

But, the sisters said, "We urge you to vote yes for life by voting yes for health care reform" in the bill.

Among those signing the letter were Marlene Weisenbeck, FSPA, president, Leadership Conference of Women Religious; Joan Chittister, OSB, co-chair of Global Peace Initiative of Women and St. Mary Persico, IHM, president, Congregation of Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Monday it opposes the Democratic health care plan heading for a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives because of its language on abortion.

The group noted that it liked the House health care bill because it would continue the strict ban on federal financing of abortion. But it said the Senate version would open the door to federal financing, and it is the Senate version heading to the House for a vote.

Senate Democrats have insisted their bill would not allow federal financing of abortion, but George and the Catholic group disagreed.

“The Catholic bishops regretfully hold that it must be opposed unless and until these serious moral problems are addressed,” said Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, the president of the conference.

He noted that some have said the language on abortion might be changed later, after the bill is signed into law.

“Assurances that the moral objections to the legislation can be met only after the bill is passed seem a little like asking us, in Midwestern parlance, to buy a pig in a poke,” George said.

The Catholic bishops have lobbied for a health care plan to extend insurance to the uninsured – but only if it maintains the longstanding U.S. policy against  federal financing of abortion..

“Their experience in health care and in Catholic parishes has acquainted them with the anguish of mothers who are unable to afford prenatal care, of families unable to ensure quality care for their children, and of those who cannot obtain insurance because of preexisting conditions,” George said.

“They have urged that all who are sick, injured or in need receive necessary and appropriate medical assistance, and that no one be deliberately killed through an expansion of federal funding of abortion itself or of insurance plans that cover abortion.”

Republican national chairman Michael Steele sees the U.S. Congress not just as out of touch with the American people, but....

"I'm tired of the Congress thumbing their nose and flipping a bird to the American people," he told reporters in a conference call Monday. "I'm tired of this Congress thinking it knows better than me and my family how to provide for our health care now and in the future. And I'm tired of this Congress not listening to me and the American people, to all of us."

Later in the call, he re-emphasized his point:

"It just annoys and irritates me on something so fundamentally important that this Congress, this leadership, is so tone deaf and -- and so hell-bent on -- on propping up a -- a policy that the American people doesn't want, that they're willing to basically flip the bird to the America people on this issue and slip it in in the middle -- in the dead of night."

Steele was talking about the health care bill now being debated in the Senate. His comments came a few hours after the Senate, on a straight party line vote, agreed at 1:19 a.m. Monday to cut off a Republican-led filibuster.

"The fact that they would have this vote at the dead of night to me speaks to a cowardice, a cowardice that's reflected in this leadership in the Senate and, quite frankly, Democrats across the country who -- who dare not look the American people in the eye on this issue," Steele said.

"So this is a time for us now in the next few days just to call -- call it what it is, and this is a wholesale hijacking of our health care system in this country; one of the best, if not the best in the world."

Sen. Ben Nelson, considered the long holdout blocking progress on the Democrats' health care overhaul bill, Thursday rejected a compromise on federal funding of abortion that's stymied the legislation for days.

Sen. Robert Casey, D-Pa., had been trying to broker a deal with Nelson, an ardent abortion opponent. Casey proposed new efforts at curbing teen pregnancy and tax help for adoptive parents.

Nelson, D-Neb., told Lincoln, Neb. radio station KLIN that while "there's a lot of improvement," the "basic question of funding for abortion had not been fully answered yet."

As a result, he said, "right now, without further modification, it (Casey's plan) is not sufficient."

Casey said he would keep working to find common ground, and would not reveal what else he is considering. Nelson warned, though, that he had other concerns about the legislation, including the plan to impose excise taxes on high-end insurance policies.

Nelson's vote is badly needed, because Democrats believe 59 senators support cutting off extended debate on the health care bill, one short of the needed number.

A bipartisan group of senators Monday introduced an amendment to health care legislation putting restrictions on abortion, a plan likely to spark strong debate later Monday and probably Tuesday.

Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., led the group. Their proposal would assure that no federal money funds abortion in the health care overhaul legislation the Senate is now considering.

No federal aid could be used to buy a health insurance policy that covers abortion, for instance. THe House of Representatives imposed similar restrictions in the legislation it passed last month.

The Senate, though, is not expected to be as sympathetic, and if it passes a health care bill without the restrictions, a negotiating, or conference committee, would work out differences, probably early next year.

“For more than 30 years, taxpayers’ money hasn’t been used for abortions, a standard that has the broad support of the American people," Nelson said in a statement. "This rule now applies to federal health programs covering veterans, federal employees, Native Americans, active duty service members and others, and should extend to those covered by any new health care bill.”