Obama birth-control rule stokes election-year fight

The top Republican in the Congress on Wednesday denounced President Barack Obama's new rule on contraceptives as an assault on "religious freedom" and vowed to overturn it, as the White House sought to prevent the issue from becoming an election-year liability.

Fanning a political firestorm, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner joined an outcry from religious leaders and social conservatives over a requirement that health insurance plans, including those at Catholic hospitals, charities and universities, offer birth control to women.

Seeking to ease a controversy that has roiled the 2012 presidential race, White House spokesman Jay Carney appeared to leave the door open to compromise. He said Obama was sensitive to religious beliefs on contraception and hoped to find a way to implement the rule that can "allay some of the concerns."

But Obama, at a meeting with Senate Democrats, reaffirmed his decision and was "not equivocating," Senator Frank Lautenberg, who attended the closed-door session, told Reuters.

Republicans have seized upon the issue, seeing a chance to paint Obama as anti-religion and put him on the defensive at a time when signs of economic improvement appear to have energized his re-election bid.

The White House, caught off-guard by the fury of the response and now trying to calm objections, accused the Republicans of trying to make "political hay" out of the issue. It said it had begun outside discussions but gave no immediate sign of what, if any, concessions it might make.

"This attack ... on religious freedom in our country cannot stand and will not stand," Boehner vowed in a speech on the floor of his chamber.

The escalating fight centers on a provision in the 2010 healthcare law that requires health insurance to cover basic birth control services for women - even at Catholic charities, hospitals and universities.

Catholic bishops contend the policy infringes on religious liberty because the church does not condone the use of birth control pills or other contraceptives.

Boehner said if the president refuses to rescind the measure, Congress will do so legislatively.

But such a bill would have little chance of getting through a divided Congress. While Boehner may secure backing in the Republican-dominated House, he faces problems in the Senate, which is controlled by Obama's fellow Democrats.

No matter how Congress responds, Obama is in a political bind. A retreat would anger his liberal base, while refusal to budge could alienate some Catholic voters.

SEEKING TO CALM CONCERNS

At the White House, Carney said the administration was "focused on implementation of this rule," but made clear that it had time to try to address opponents' objections.