Sen. Brown Defends Defeated Health Care Measure

U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is defending his support of an amendment that would have allowed employers or health insurers to deny coverage for services they say violated their moral or religious beliefs.

The Senate defeated the amendment Thursday.

The Massachusetts Republican says he believed the measure would have prevented the federal government from compelling individuals, including Catholics, from going against their religious beliefs.

Brown's chief Democratic rival Elizabeth Warren argued that the amendment was an attack on women's health care and would have given employers and insurers broad leeway to deny coverage for birth control.

The debate over the measure prompted a recent pair of dueling radio ads from Warren and Brown.

Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry also opposed the measure, calling it "a back-door dismantling of health care rights."

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