Obamacare Opposition: Majority Of Likely Voters Disapprove Of Contraceptive Mandate

A majority of likely American voters oppose the controversial contraceptive mandate created by the Affordable Care Act, or more popularly known as Obamacare.

As the Daily Caller reports, the new poll by WPA Research and the Family Research Council found that a majority of women voters, young voters and independents oppose the birth control mandate by Health and Human Services, which forces employers’ insurance plans to provide a number of preventative care services, including birth-control pills, emergency contraceptives and abortifacient drugs.

Fifty-three percent of likely U.S. voters oppose forcing employers to provide plans that various birth control methods, according to the poll, conducted earlier this month. Forty-three percent support doing so.

Among women voters, the contraceptive mandate does not hold up. 50 percent of women said they opposed the mandate while only 45 percent said they supported it. And 36 percent of women polled said they strongly opposed the mandate, while 29 percent said they strongly supported it.

And the numbers are worse among young adult voters, a group that often time votes heavily for Democratic candidates. According to the poll, 49 percent of young adults between the ages 18 and 44 years old said they opposed the idea of employers being forced to provide birth-control related drugs. Meanwhile, 47 percent said they supported the mandate.

The Obama administration did exempt churches and religious employers from the contraceptive mandate, however it did not include non-profit organizations that are considered faith-based and private business owners who oppose the use of birth-control based on deep religious beliefs.

The new poll by WPA Research vastly differs from research released a month ago, where the American Medical Association found that 69 percent of Americans supported the contraceptive mandate.

The response rate was 61% (2124/3504). Respondents were more likely to be white, older, and have higher levels of education and income than nonrespondents. After applying sampling weights, respondents were 54% female; 64% non-Hispanic white, 16% Hispanic, 12% non-Hispanic black, and 8% non-Hispanic other race. Most respondents (69%; 95% CI, 67%-72%) supported a policy of mandated coverage of birth control medication in health plans. This proportion was significantly lower than the proportion that supported other benefits. In multivariable regression analysis, support for mandated coverage of birth control medication was significantly higher among women, non-Hispanic blacks, Hispanics, parents with children younger than 18 years living in the home, and adults with private or public insurance vs comparison groups, but was not associated with education or income.

However, as the Daily Caller points out, the research failed to provide respondents with the fact that employers who refused to provide contraceptives to their employees under Obamacare would be fined.

Hobby Lobby and the Little Sisters of The Poor both have lawsuits pending before the U.S. Supreme Court in which they’re challenging the contraceptive mandate.

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