Maddow: The GOP 'is waging a war on contraception'

MSNBC host Rachel Maddow countered conservative criticism of the White House requiring religious organizations to provide insurance for birth control Sunday morning.

Appearing on a panel discussion on Meet The Press, Maddow defended the Obama administration's decision from Republican strategist Alex Castellanos' and New York Times columnist David Brooks' criticism.

"80 percent of people say that insurance -- anybody providing health insurance should be required to cover contraception," she said. "So there is a way you can try to make this into a religious freedom issue. But all of the Republican field has gone very, very far right specifically on the issue of contraception and they get a great response for it from the Republican primary audience. But campaigning against the availability of birth control in America is going to run into a 21st century ceiling."

Castellanos and Brooks unsurprisingly didn't share Maddow's sentiment, feeling that the administration was impeding on religious freedom.

However, Maddow and Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA) countered Castellanos and Brooks' argument, mentioning how the decision from the Department of Health and Human services in 2011 was not about religious freedom, but the requirements of a health insurance provider.

Maddow then pivoted back to Republican candidates' extreme views on birth control.

"Mitt Romney is campaigning saying that he would like to end-all family support at the federal level and eliminate that," he said. "And Rick Santorum says he would like to make contraception illegal. And the Republican party is waging a war on contraception, and that is where the discussion is at."

WATCH: Video from MSNBC, which was broadcast on February 5, 2012.

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