Poll: Majority of Americans believe GOP and its anti-abortion agenda is extreme

(Portland, MAINE) – As the Republican party scrambles to rebrand its long-held position to ban abortion, a new survey shows the American people view the GOP’s mission as extreme and out of step with public opinion. 

The poll, from Navigator Research, is consistent with electoral outcomes and previous public opinion research that indicate strong support for reproductive freedom including access to abortion and that Americans continue to believe that private medical decisions should be made by patients and their doctors, not politicians. 

GOP politicians locally and nationally have tried and failed to paint expanding access to abortion as extreme. Sixty percent of survey respondents said they see the Republican party as more extreme than the Democratic Party, and 3 in 5 say the GOP position on abortion is extreme. The Republican Party’s attempts to rebrand its anti-abortion agenda have also failed, with 73% of respondents indicating they believe the GOP stands for making abortion illegal.  

The Navigator Research data comes as Republican presidential candidates make banning abortion keystone campaign promises, and as patients and providers experience continued attacks and negative impacts of restrictions and bans on the medical procedure. To date, 22 states have bans or near total bans on abortion.  

In Maine, lawmakers passed a slate of bills to protect and expand access to abortion during the last legislative session. Many of those bills will go into effect later this month, positioning Maine as a leader in expanding access in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade. 
 
Statement from Lisa Margulies, Esq., Vice President of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund: 

"The American people are not buying disingenuous Republican messaging tactics. The GOP’s attempt to paint expanded access to healthcare as extreme has not only failed, it has backfired. 

The Maine Republican Party’s platform, which aligns with the national Republican Party’s platform, has long aimed to ban abortion, and voters have shown time and again that they value reproductive freedom and autonomy. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe, pregnant people have suffered unimaginable consequences of Republican Party policy at local and state levels across the country.  

Fortunately, here in Maine, we are looking forward to evidence-based policy centered on patient experience taking effect later this month, and we celebrate our state lawmakers who acted to expand access to abortion throughout pregnancy, decriminalize abortion, and take steps to address affordability of care in our state.  

Mainers elected pro-reproductive rights champions to represent them in Augusta, and despite anti-abortion politicians’ attempts to label compassionate policy backed by science as extreme, these champions helped see that this policy will be the law of the land.” 

### 

Planned Parenthood Maine Action Fund is an independent, nonpartisan, not-for-profit membership organization formed as the advocacy and political arm of Planned Parenthood of Northern New England in Maine. PPNNE has four health centers in Maine and sees more than 12,000 patients a year.