WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Obama administration is willing to work with Catholic universities and hospitals in implementing new rules that require health insurance to cover birth control, a top adviser to the president's re-election campaign said on Tuesday.
Signaling possible room for compromise, David Axelrod said such religious institutions have a grace period to find a way to include health insurance coverage for contraception as part of the U.S. healthcare overhaul without going against Catholic Church doctrine.
"We certainly don't want to abridge anyone's religious freedom, so we're going to look for a way to move forward that both guarantees women that basic preventive care that they need and respects the prerogatives of religious institutions," Axelrod, a senior adviser to President Barack Obama's re-election team, said on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
"This is an important issue. It's important for millions of women across this country. We want to resolve it in an appropriate way, and we're going to do that," he said.
Axelrod echoed comments from White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, who on Monday told reporters the administration wants to "implement this policy in a way that ensures that women have access to preventive care, but tries to allay the concerns of these institutions."
The White House has encountered strong opposition from Catholic Church officials, who say the move will force affiliated institutions to go against Church teachings. The Church does not condone birth control.
Over the weekend, Catholic clergy across the country called for congregations to protest the rule and pressure the administration to back down.
REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN FODDER
The administration's 2010 healthcare overhaul calls for health insurance to cover basic preventative services for women.
The Institute of Medicine, an independent arm of the National Academy of Sciences that advises Congress and others on health issues, had recommended covering a fuller range of contraceptive services to help prevent unwanted pregnancies.
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius adopted the institute's recommendation but included an exemption for churches, although not related religious organizations such as hospitals.
Axelrod did not signal that the administration would reverse course but did show signs that it had heard the Church's concerns.
"The real question is how do we get together and resolve this in a way that respects the concerns that have been raised but also assures women across this country that they're going to get the preventive care that they need," he said, speaking from Chicago.
The issue quickly took on political dimensions, with Republican presidential contenders criticizing the administration for stepping on religious liberty. Obama is seeking re-election in what many see as a referendum on his policies during the last three years.
Republican presidential frontrunner Mitt Romney, in Colorado, on Tuesday called the requirement a blow to religious beliefs.
"This kind of assault on religion will end if I'm president of the United States," he said.
Republican rival Rick Santorum, who is Catholic, called the White House's comments "ridiculous" while speaking in Colorado on Monday. Rival Newt Gingrich, also a Catholic, has also declared the policy a war on America's religious freedom.
(Reporting By Susan Heavey; additional reporting by Greg McCune in Chicago; Editing by Eric Beech and Philip Barbara)
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