Chapter 8 describes the contours of public support for access to birth control over the last 60 years and for the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) between 2011 and 2014. Drawing on data from numerous polling organizations, this chapter shows that majorities of both political parties, both genders, and all races and religious affiliations have had stable and supportive opinions on whether women should have access to birth control and whether contraceptives are morally acceptable since at least the 1950s. Our analysis also reveals, however, that large partisan, gender, and “God-based” gaps in public support for requiring health insurance coverage of contraceptives developed as a result of the 2012 debate over the ACA’s birth control mandate. The divisions in public opinion driven by the competing accusations of a “war on women” and a “war on religion” persist today.
The Impact of the Affordable Care Act on Health Insurance Coverage for Asian Americans
