White House: Birth Control Mandate ‘Virtually Identical’ To Romney’s Massachusetts Policy

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney scoffed at Republican primary candidate Mitt Romney’s criticism of a new rule that will require all health insurance policies – except for people working directly in a church or seminary – to cover sterilization and FDA-approved contraceptives, including those that induce abortions, saying that Romney backed a near-identical policy as governor of Massachusetts.

At Wednesday’s White House briefing, Carney said, “You know, the former governor of Massachusetts is an odd messenger on this given that the services that this rule would provide for women around the country are the same that were provided in Massachusetts and were provided when he was governor -- including contraception, including, you know, covered with no co-pay or deductible, religious exemptions for houses of worship and churches, and church-controlled organizations such as parochial schools but not to universities and hospitals.”

“I mean this is, I think, ironic, that Mitt Romney is expressing, criticizing the president for pursuing a policy that's virtually identical to the one that was in place when he was governor of Massachusetts,” Carney said.

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