Your characterization of the PPACA, and the "compromise" made by religious-affiliated institutions is patently false. You're conflating birth control with abortion. In case you forgot, the Hyde Amendment precludes
any federal funding of abortion services. That includes university health clinics (whether it's Notre Dame, Georgetown, or Ohio State) or Planned Parenthood.
The mandate was aimed at
employers who subsidize the health insurance premiums of ALL employees, while enjoying their governmental Tax Breaks in exchange. Half of the work force is female, and sorry to break the news to you....but womens' health is linked to reproductive care, and that includes Birth Control.
Maybe you got confused by the political terminology of "Free"? The PPACA aimed to turn ALL preventative care 'co-pay free', by incorporating those costs into
everyone's premium costs. The theory is that it's more cost-effective in the long-term to encourage (or even subsidize) prevention and proaction, than it is to pay the higher costs of illness, unintended pregnancies, or being
reactive.
The stupid silliness began when we coupled health care with employment, and employers were in cahoots with insurers and legislators. If the health insurance companies are so strapped with their "really low profit margins", they could stop spending multiple Billions in advertisements, CEO and executive pay packages, bureaucratic middle-men, and DC lobbyists.