New Poll Shows 57% of Trump Voters Oppose Defunding Planned Parenthood

For Immediate Release: March 22, 2017

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PerryUndem Survey Finds 74% of Voters Overall are Opposed to Taking Away Funds

Washington, DC - Today, a new PerryUndem poll shows that 74% of voters – including 57% of Trump voters – oppose actions that would prohibit women from accessing birth control, well-woman care, and cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood.

Statement from Dawn Laguens, Executive Vice President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America

“This is just the latest poll showing that the American people clearly do not want to see Congress defund Planned Parenthood. Even Trump’s own supporters are opposed to efforts to block patients from accessing high-quality, lifesaving care at Planned Parenthood.”

“The vast majority of Americans support Planned Parenthood and understand that essential preventive health care should be available to anyone, regardless of how much money they make or where they live.” 

“We’ve made tremendous gains in this country, including a 30-year low in unintended pregnancies and a historic low in teen pregnancies, thanks to expanded access to reproductive health care and birth control. Now is not the time to roll back that progress.” 

This PerryUndem survey follows a newFOX News poll showing that a clear majority of Americans (57%) have a favorable view of Planned Parenthood, as well as a recentpoll from the Kaiser Family Foundation which found that 75% of Americans, including majorities of both Republican women and Republican men, support federal Medicaid reimbursement for Planned Parenthood to provide services such as contraception, STD testing and treatment, and cancer screenings.

This poll also follows 20 other national polls that all show overwhelming support for Planned Parenthood.

Key Findings from the PerryUndem Poll: 

“74% oppose taking away funds from Planned Parenthood that are used for birth control, well-woman care, and cancer screenings for low-income women”

“67% want to keep the ACA provision that requires insurance plans to cover birth control without a co-pay” 

“63% oppose restricting access to abortion care”

“55% oppose banning Medicaid coverage for abortion care” 

“71% said that access to affordable birth control is an important part of equality for women”

“87% want to keep the ACA provision that prohibits insurance companies from charging women more for their health insurance than men based on their gender”

“84% want to keep the ACA provision that requires insurance plans to cover preventive care, like well-woman visits, without a co-pay”

The Facts on "Defunding" Planned Parenthood

FACT: The term “defunding” Planned Parenthood is a misnomer. There is no blank check that Planned Parenthood gets from the federal government, and it’s not a line item in the federal budget. Instead, this type of legislation would prevent millions of women who rely on Medicaid and/or other federal programs from accessing the health care provider that’s been there for them for decades. Federal law already blocks federal funding from going to abortion services. This legislation instead blocks people from accessing cancer screenings, birth control, HIV and STI testing, and other preventive and essential care at Planned Parenthood health centers. 

FACT: Blocking access to Planned Parenthood is deeply unpopular. A February 2017 Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa poll showed 77% of Iowans support funding for Planned Parenthood’s preventive care, including 62% of Republicans and 62% of evangelical Christians. 20 national polls all show overwhelming support for Planned Parenthood.

FACT: Blocking access to Planned Parenthood hurts people in communities who are struggling to get by the most – especially those with low incomes and those living in areas with no other quality health care providers. This disproportionately impacts people who already face structural barriers to accessing care including people of color, immigrants, young people, and members of the LGBTQ community – with those whose identities overlap facing multiple barriers.

FACT: Support for Roe v. Wade is at the highest it’s ever been, according to Pew Research, with 7 out of 10 Americans saying they believe a woman should have the right to safe, legal abortion. 

FACT: Other providers cannot absorb Planned Parenthood’s patient base if it is cut off from federal programs. Politicians who want to deny patients using Medicaid from going to Planned Parenthood often insist that other providers will fill the gap, but the experts at the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the National Partnership for Women and Families said it flat out: They can't. Even the executive director of the American Public Health Association has called such claims “ludicrous.” 

FACT: Legislation denying access to care at Planned Parenthood was a health disaster in Texas. Two Texas public health investigators wrote in the Washington Post that when Texas passed legislation it was devastating – and shouldn't be repeated in the rest of the country. A significant number of women also lost or had reduced access to primary care providers as a consequence of limiting patient options. 

FACT: When lawmakers in Louisiana, Ohio, and Florida tried to block access to Planned Parenthood in the past, they suggested women could go to “alternative” providers for reproductive health care, including dentists, food banks, nursing homes, ENTs, elementary schools, rehabs, and retirement homes.

FACT: Fifty-four percent of Planned Parenthood health centers are in health professional shortage areas, rural or medically underserved areas. Planned Parenthood health centers provide preventive health care to many who otherwise would have nowhere to turn for care.

FACT: Although Planned Parenthood health centers comprised 10% of the country’s safety-net centers that offered family planning care in 2010, they served 36% of patients served by such centers. In 21 percent of counties with a Planned Parenthood health center, Planned Parenthood was the only safety-net family planning provider; and in 68 percent of counties with a Planned Parenthood health center, Planned Parenthood served at least half of all safety-net family planning patients.

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Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading provider and advocate of high-quality, affordable health care for women, men, and young people, as well as the nation’s largest provider of sex education. With over 650 health centers across the country, Planned Parenthood organizations serve all patients with care and compassion, with respect and without judgment. Through health centers, programs in schools and communities, and online resources, Planned Parenthood is a trusted source of reliable health information that allows people to make informed health decisions. We do all this because we care passionately about helping people lead healthier lives.