The Hill News

President Barack Obama said Friday that Republican positions on women's health issues were "appalling" and "offensive" and equated an effort to block his regulation to mandate free contraception to like "being in a time machine" during a blistering speech at the Women's Leadership Forum in Washington on Friday.

The president's re-election team has made a push for female voters a key priority in his campaign strategy, and Obama sought to portray his legislative successes on health care as a boon for American women.

"This contraception fight in particular was illuminating. It was like being in a time machine," Obama told the crowd, many of whom had purchased tickets that cost $1,000 to attend. "Republicans in Congress were going so far as to say an employer should be able to have a say in the health care decisions of its female employees.  You know, for a party that prides itself on being rabidly anti-regulations of almost any kind, for folks who claim to believe in freedom from government interference and meddling, it doesn’t seem to bother them when it comes to a woman’s health."

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