(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

BY BRIAN LEWIS

ANCHOR ANA COMPAIN-ROMERO

The Obama Administration is facing criticism from Democrats as it attempts to craft a compromise between religious freedom and birth control access.

The controversy arose last month after the Department of Health and Human Services issued exemptions allowing churches to opt out of mandated birth control and sterilization coverage in their health plans.

But the exceptions don’t apply to charities, hospitals or universities. That has angered some prominent Catholic Democrats, including former Virginia Governor and current Senate candidate Tim Kaine. The Washington Post quotes Kaine:

“I have definitely expressed my grave concerns to the White House about that. I support the contraception mandate, but there should be a religious-employer exemption that is broader than the one they proposed.”

Former Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joe Lieberman panned the policy via a tweet.

“I am opposed to the Administration’s new requirement that religious org.’s must offer employees contraception benefits.”

U.S News and World Report reports that some Dems have gone even further than those measured responses.

“The language coming from these Democrats— ‘Un-American,’ ‘a violation of conscience rights,’ and as Representative Connolly noted, a ‘fight’ that was ‘picked’ by this administration—is startling in that Democrats rarely offer the slightest critique of anything that falls under the umbrella of what Democrats call ‘reproductive rights.’”

Not all Democrats have abandoned the President. Senator Kristin Gillibrand applauded the administration’s position on MSNBC.

“I think the president made the right decision. I am dumbfounded in the year 2012 we are still debating whether women have a right to basic health care, basic contraception in this country.”

Roll Call’s Ambreen Ali cast the controversy as an opportunity for the administration to prove its commitment to reproductive rights voters.

“By taking a firm stance on birth control, Obama could galvanize liberal voters who have criticized him for being too moderate.”

That may not be easy for the president to do, as the mix of religion and reproductive rights is causing some organizations to take counter-intuitive positions. Catholics typically support the health care mandate — but on Democracy Now! — Jon O’Brien of Catholics for Choice points out — government funding is a double-edged sword.

“It’s clear to me that what’s going on here really is that the bishops are looking to have their cake and eat it. They actually want to run hospitals and schools, very often taking taxpayer dollars to do that, but they want to be exempted from the same rules as everybody else.”

For his part the president is trying to keep religion out of the debate. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney framed it as a health issue in a response quoted by USAToday.

"We're not trying to win an argument here … We're trying to implement a policy that will affect millions of women."