Congress Beware: The Majority of Voters in These Four States Support Planned Parenthood

Anti-women’s health members of Congress are so hell-bent on defunding Planned Parenthood that they would shut down the government over it. They should take heed: A recent poll found that defunding Planned Parenthood is wildly unpopular with voters and carries a political liability.

• Nationally, 64 percent of voters don’t agree with members of Congress who want an immediate vote to end government funding for Planned Parenthood.

• In states like New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania — where Sens. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), Rob Portman (R-OH), and Pat Toomey (R-PA) unsuccessfully voted last month to defund Planned Parenthood — the number of voters that oppose defunding Planned Parenthood is even higher. 

These politicians haven’t worked in isolation. Their efforts are part of a long-term campaign backed by anti-abortion extremists to block millions from accessing reproductive health care. Any politician who throws their hat in with these extremists does so at their own risk — it leaves their constituents devastated, and it turns off voters.

How do we know? The data tells the story.

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is one of four states that ended funding for its local Planned Parenthood health centers. Will Sen. Ayotte join Republican members of Congress in shutting down the government to block funding for Planned Parenthood? She shouldn’t, given that 75 percent of her New Hampshire voters said they oppose shutting down the government to defund Planned Parenthood.

Ohio

First, Sen. Rob Portman voted to defund Planned Parenthood — risking health care for millions of women. Now, Republicans want to shut down the government — to block funding for Planned Parenthood. A move like that would show just how out-of-touch he is: 74 percent of Ohio voters are against a government shutdown.

Pennsylvania 

Sen. Pat Toomey, who also co-sponsored the Senate bill to defund Planned Parenthood, has been trying to restrict access to reproductive health care for years — but he’s obviously out-of-touch with Pennsylvania voters. According to the poll, 76 percent of Pennsylvania voters said they support federal funding for Planned Parenthood and oppose shutting down the government to defund it.

Wisconsin

Sen. Ron Johnson was one of the co-sponsors of the U.S. Senate bill to eliminate federal funding to Planned Parenthood last month, but American voters don’t agree with him: When asked about a proposal by Republicans in Congress to end all government funding for Planned Parenthood — including for services like cancer screenings and family planning — fully 64 percent of voters across the country oppose it.

Click here to learn more about Sen. Ron Johnson's stance on Planned Parenthood.

Tags: Defunding, Congress, Senate, Defunding Planned Parenthood