sister carol keehan, president of the catholic health association, she says she's satisfied with the president's actions. "the framework developed has responded to the issues that we identified needed to be fixed." melinda, you have been covering this with great compassion and zeal the past couple of days. the president blew the whistle on this fight. the president decided a week ago this thing had gone too far. he was simply looking for time to get someone to come up with a solution like we found today. >> i think this is fantastic for everybody. i think it is a classic win-win. and it's terrific that on principle and on politics, i think he really did the right thing. of course, there are still going to be critics. there are republican critics of the president who would never have been satisfied, but for people for whom this really was a matter of principle, this really was about the first amendment, i think they can be very pleased that the president listened to their concerns and acted on them. >> basically, the solution is that instead of mandating that catholic institutions lik

i think sister carol keehan signing off on this is a really big deal because she was a supporter of the health care law all along. it preserves what president obama was trying to do, which is make sure that contraception is readily and easily available. this means that women don't have to dole out a co-pay if they want the birth control pill or other contraceptives. and for some women, that's a big deal. chris, i think the biggest deal of all is, this will help curb the abortion rate. >> yes. >> for those of us who are tired of the abortion wars, if you really want to curb the abortion rate, make contraception more easily available, and this does that. >> of course, it was all a question of what role the churches were willing to play. they didn't want to be the ones to put their imprimatur so to say on birth control, but liberal catholics were pilling to say the federal government has a right to do what it does in these cases. they control health policy. under interstate commerce clause. there they go. here's tim kaine, one of the many democrats caught in the middle of this. he's a form

sister carol keehan said in a statement: "the framework developed has responded to the issues we identified that needed to be fixed." the head of the u.s. conference of catholic bishops was more restrained. archbishop of new york timothy dolan said: "today's decision to revise how individuals obtain services that are morally objectionable to religious entities and people of faith is a first step in the right direction." groups that supported the birth control mandate, from planned parenthood to the national organization for women, backed the compromise. louise melling is deputy legal director for the american civil liberties union. >> we were pleased that, today, the obama administration made perfectly clear its long- standing commitment to contraceptive coverage. that it made clear, again, and reaffirmed its commitment to ensure that women across the country, no matter where they work, will be able to have coverage for contraception. >> brown: for their part, republican presidential candidates kept up their criticism of the original mandate. former house speaker newt gingrich spoke at a ga

>> that actually can never happen so they would have to literally go -- i mean, what sister carol keehanying who runs the catholic health association, do i really have to choose between the call that i think came from jesus to serve the have nots in this world and the government telling me that i have to do something that goes against my faith? i mean, this really will never happen so what they're doing is guaranteeing people, you know, these catholic outfits and others can't serve the populations they were called to serve. it does not have to come to that. >> michelle, your reporting on this, how is it going? obviously we're looking at two conflicting interests. different points of view about the institution. >> there are conflicting interests but melinda is just wrong about the courts and the precedents. we have 28 states right now that have these mandates including new york and california and for that matter massachusetts that have the same kind of restriction, the same restrictions that are in the federal mandate. there is an exemption for churches. >> they are actually not the same.

the administration won the support of the catholic health association and president, sister carol keehanwho is pleased with the decision. the united states conference of bishops called the plan a good first step toward addressing concerns of religious liberty. bottom line, just about everybody is on board, very satisfied with the president's decision, except for the guys trying to take his job. >> we're not talking about a $10,000 procedure. something that is inexpensive medical drug, and the idea that some how the government has to insure this period, the government has to force people to cover this for the first place is a complete -- makes a mockery out of the issue of insurance. this is aç president trying to impose his values. he thinks he knows best. what people should have and shouldn't have, that should outrage everybody of faith and no faith. >> that of course is the out of touch rick santorum, where 67% of the american women are in favor of what the president did today, 61% of americans across the board are in favor of what the president did today. >>> mitt romney did not figh

i think sister carol keehan signing off on this is a really big deal because she was a supporter of theealth care law all along. it preserves what president obama was trying to do, which is make sure that contraception is readily and easily available. this means that women don't have to dole out a co-pay if they want the birth control pill or other contraceptives. and for some women, that's a big deal. chris, i think the biggest deal of all is, this will help curb the abortion rate. >> yes. >> for those of us who are tired of the abortion wars if you really want to curb theç abortn rate, make contraception more easily available, and this does that. >> of course, it was all a question of what role the churches were willing to play. they didn't want to be the ones to put their imprint on birth control, but liberal catholics were willing to say the federal government has a right to do what it does in these cases. they control health policy. under interstate commerce clause. there they go. here's tim kaine, one of the many democrats caught in the middle of this. he's a former chairman of t