Boston Catholic Insider has an update. Romney just flat-out told a huge, whopping falsehood. Quoting just a small part of the web site’s much longer, quite definitive post, with my emphases in bolded italics.

Here is part of the state directive to hospitals :

“To ensure that particular hospital staff’s values or beliefs do not interfere with compliance with the law, the hospital must institute systems to ensure that all female rape victims of childbearing age are promptly provided medically and factually accurate information about emergency contraception, are promptly offered emergency contraception, and emergency contraception is initiated upon her request.”

This is directly at odds with the Massachusetts Constitution, which says:

Article II: “no subject shall be hurt, molested, or restrained, in his person, liberty, or estate, for worshipping God in the manner and season most agreeable to the dictates of his own conscience; or for his religious profession or sentiments; provided he doth not disturb the public peace, or obstruct others in their religious worship.”

Article XVIII, Section 1 (amendment): “No law shall be passed prohibiting the free exercise of religion.”

And it is directly at odds with a conscience exemption law passed in 1975 and still in effect that says:

“…any employee of a hospital or other health facility in which an abortion…is scheduled and who shall state in writing an objection to such abortion…procedure on moral or religious grounds, shall not be required to participate in the medical procedures which result in such abortion…”

Reminder: Romney’s own health department lawyers announced in public that Catholic hospitals were exempt from the law — and then Romney himself overruled them. This puts Romney on the state level in the same position Obama is in nationally: Trampling the rights of religious freedom.