Poll: Most Back Contraceptive Rule for Faith Hospitals and Colleges

A new survey by the Public Religion Research Institute found that a majority of Americans support extending the Obama administration’s controversial contraceptive mandate to faith-affiliated hospitals and universities, Religion News Service reports.

Fifty-six percent of respondents said the rule requiring employers to made birth-control coverage available to workers should apply to religiously affiliated hospitals, and 52 percent said colleges with faith ties should be included.

Forty-two percent of those polled said the contraceptive provision of the Affordable Care Act should apply to all businesses and institutions, including houses or worship, which are exempt from the rule, while 53 percent opposed blanket enforcement. Scores of nonprofits, universities, and private firms have sued to block the mandate, arguing that it violates their freedom of religion.