Marco Rubio, Father Of 4: 'None Of My Children Were Planned'

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) gave a lighthearted personal anecdote this week amid a broader rebuke of the Obama administration's decision to disallow religiously affiliated employers from denying birth control coverage to female employees.

"I can tell you that none of my children were planned," the practicing Roman Catholic and father of four told Politico with a laugh. Apparently Rubio and his wife observe the Catholic Church's position of rejecting forms of artificial contraception.

Rubio, one of the more staunch anti-abortion senators and the only one to be endorsed by the Catholic Advocate PAC, has been one of the most vocal opponents of the birth control mandate since the administration announced it last month.

Politico reports on Rubio's recent analysis of the decision:

"I hate to question people's motives ... but I think this is certainly indicative of an ideology that the policy goals of an administration trump religious freedom," added Rubio, a devout Catholic at the top of the GOP vice presidential shortlist. "Is this really necessary? This is not a key provision of the health care bill. ... Why is this a fight they would pick?"

On Monday, Rubio submitted legislation to override the Affordable Care Act measure.

"This is a common-sense bill that simply says the government can't force religious organizations to abandon the fundamental tenets of their faith because the government says so," Rubio said of his bill in a statement.