CINCINNATI – Newt Gingrich thrust the reproductive rights issue into the GOP campaign spotlight on Tuesday, criticizing both Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama’s records on requiring Catholic organizations to provide contraceptive aids in some circumstances. Rick Santorum vowed to make the issue a central part of his struggling campaign.
Gingrich, a Catholic, told GOP voters in swing-state Ohio that Obama had declared war on the Catholic Church. He and his GOP rivals have blasted the administration’s new regulation requiring church-affiliated employers to cover birth control for their workers. Some Catholics say the rule would force Catholic institutions to violate their religious convictions.
Romney also has criticized the Obama policy, but Gingrich said Romney was no better than Obama on the issue.
“There’s been a lot of talk about the Obama administration’s attack on the Catholic church,” he said at Price Hill Chili restaurant in Cincinnati. “Well, the fact is, Gov. Romney insisted that Catholic hospitals give out abortion pills, against their religious beliefs, when he was governor.”
In late 2005, Romney required all Massachusetts hospitals, including Catholic ones, to provide emergency contraception to rape victims. Some Catholics say the so-called morning-after pill is a form of abortion.
Romney ignored Gingrich’s criticism while speaking to
Read More from the Article Source: Full Article
