by Damon Young<\/p>\n
Like all Mormon ex-missionaries, Mitt Romney knows what is best for women.<\/p>\n
\u201cI respect and will protect,\u201d he said during his 2002 campaign for Massachusetts governor, \u201ca woman\u2019s right to choose\u201d.<\/p>\n
Unsurprisingly, this rhetoric did not last. As a conservative Christian, the Republican presidential candidate will oppose women\u2019s control over their own reproductive destiny. This is why Romney tried to veto a Massachusetts law requiring religious hospitals to provide contraception for rape victims. It is why he is now critical of Obama\u2019s plan to force religious institutions to cover contraception in their employee insurance.<\/p>\n
The White House initiative requires organisations like universities and hospitals to buy insurance for their workers, with contraception included alongside other health services. For the Democrat government, this is chiefly a health policy: giving women the power to avoid unwanted or unsafe pregnancy, while still enjoying consensual sex.<\/p>\n
But for conservatives like Romney, this is a religious issue, which transgresses Christians\u2019 profound beliefs on the sanctity of life. Romney, campaigning in Colorado, called this a \u201cviolation of conscience\u201d. His colleague, Ohio Republican John Boehner, called Obama\u2019s legislation an \u201cattack by the federal government on religious freedom\u201d.<\/p>\n