Poll: Majority of Likely Voters Oppose ObamaCare's HHS Mandate

A new poll released by Family Research Council (FRC) has found that 53 percent of likely voters oppose ObamaCare’s HHS mandate that requires most employers to provide contraceptives, sterilization procedures, and abortifacients to employees without charge through health insurance plans.

The survey of 901 likely voters, conducted by Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research on behalf of FRC, was performed between May 1-4, and has a margin of error of +3.3 percent.

Results showed that most likely voters oppose the HHS mandate 53-43 percent, including 40 percent who strongly oppose it, even among key demographic groups that typically support Democrat candidates.

The HHS mandate was opposed by most women, 50-45 percent, with 36 percent strongly opposed. Among independents, 53 percent oppose the mandate and 43 percent support it, with 41 percent strongly opposed to it.

Likely voters between the ages of 18-44 oppose the mandate 49-47 percent, with 33 percent strongly opposed. Hispanics split their opposition and support of the HHS mandate evenly, 50-50 percent, with 31 percent strongly opposed.

In rankings released by Nate Silver’s fivethirtyeight.com of 2008 election data, Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research was statistically tied as the most accurate partisan pollster and was found to be significantly more accurate than other partisan pollsters.

In a press release, FRC president Tony Perkins said regarding the survey,

“As the debate over the HHS mandate has played out in the media and the courts, Americans oppose the mandate because it puts the jobs, livelihoods, and healthcare of Americans at risk.”

Perkins said the mandate “forces those who stand up for their conscience to choose between paying crippling fines that could shut down their business or dropping the healthcare of all their employees.”

“Respecting freedom of conscience is a long-held American tradition and the government should not impose mandates or laws that force individuals and businesses to violate these beliefs just to hold a job, own a business, or have health insurance,” Perkins continued. “This is a flawed mandate within a flawed law.”

“Americans should not be forced to violate their religious beliefs to purchase health insurance, hold a job, or operate a business in their country,” he concluded. “Freedom of religion, the American people believe, extends to the freedom to practice your religion in your healthcare plan, as outlined by the First Amendment of the Constitution and illustrated in these poll results.”