Washington D.C., Oct 4, 2012 / 01:38 am
Republican vice presidential nominee Rep. Paul Ryan has made a special video message for Catholic voters pledging that religious liberty protections will be a "cornerstone" of a Romney-Ryan administration.
"We need a president who will support our God-given rights, not try to circumvent them," he said in an Oct. 2 video posted to the Romney campaign website.
The video comes after nine months of controversy over the Department of Health and Human Services mandate requiring most large employers, including many Catholic institutions, to provide employees free insurance coverage of sterilization and contraception, including some abortion-causing drugs.
The mandate's narrow religious exemption applies to employers who primarily employ or serve their co-religionists and would not cover Catholic charities, universities, and health systems that employ and serve the general public.