A possible running mate for Mitt Romney says the Obama administration treats religious freedom as "a second-class right."

Ohio Sen. Rob Portman made the assertion while speaking out against the healthcare mandate that employers provide insurance coverage for contraceptives and sterilizations.

He told the Faith and Freedom Coalition that conscience rights were "treated as a mere afterthought or inconvenience."

Portman has been touted as a potential vice president on the Republican ticket.

He will travel with Romney Sunday when his bus tour makes campaign stops in Ohio. They will visit Brunswick, Newark, and Troy.