Go to Content Go to Navigation Go to Navigation Go to Site Search Homepage

Sixteen separate nationwide polls and an additional nine polls in key states show strong favorability for Planned Parenthood and strong opposition to efforts in Congress to block patients from accessing high-quality, lifesaving care at Planned Parenthood.  

These poll results stem from the deep and longstanding relationship that many Americans have with Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading provider of reproductive health care and sex education. For a century, people have relied on Planned Parenthood for care and information, and each year  Planned Parenthood health centers serve millions of patients essential services, such as birth control, lifesaving cancer screenings, safe and legal abortion, and other high-quality health care. An estimated one in five American women has relied on Planned Parenthood for care in her lifetime.

All sixteen national polls conducted since the Congressional attempt to block funding in 2015 show strong support for Planned Parenthood and extraordinarily strong opposition to dogmatic policies targeting federal funding for care.

  1. A New York Times/CBS News Poll taken in the middle of the 2015 funding fight found that most Americans think Planned Parenthood should continue to receive government funding. The nationwide survey found that congressional Republicans have more to lose in yet another budget fight; more Americans would blame Republicans than other political actors if the government were to shut down over the funding of Planned Parenthood.

  2. In a Pew Research Center Poll, a majority of Americans surveyed say that any budget deal must maintain funding for Planned Parenthood. This Pew poll found that if lawmakers fail to agree on a budget and the government does shut down, more say the Republicans are to blame than any other participant.

  3. A Quinnipiac University National poll found that 69 percent of American voters — including 56 percent of Republican voters — oppose shutting down the federal government over funding Planned Parenthood. The majority of voters oppose blocking patients using Medicaid from accessing Planned Parenthood, and a strong 60 percent percent of women oppose blocking access to care at Planned Parenthood.

  4. A poll from NBC News/Wall Street Journal found 6 in 10 Americans say they're opposed to completely eliminating Planned Parenthood's federal funding — including more than 40 percent who are "strongly" opposed. The poll demonstrates that American attitudes about Planned Parenthood were  virtually unchanged after extremists released a series of deceptively edited videos.

  5. The latest poll from CNN/ORC found that 7 out of 10 Americans oppose shutting down the government in order to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood. Even the majority of those who labeled themselves as “Conservative” agree that it is more important to avoid a government shutdown than block patients using Medicaid from accessing Planned Parenthood, and a strong 76 percent of respondents who make under $50K a year share the same view.

  6. A poll from Hart research found that 64 percent of voters, including 72 percent of independent voters, disagree with attempts to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood. Only 28 percent of voters support efforts to block patients using Medicaid from accessing Planned Parenthood, and voters overwhelmingly say they would support a candidate who favors funding Planned Parenthood over a candidate who supports blocking patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood health centers.

  7. YouGov found that a solid majority of Americans have a favorable view of Planned Parenthood — virtually unchanged from a year prior. The poll found that more than a third of people who think abortion should be banned in all cases have a favorable view of Planned Parenthood.

  8. A Reuters/Ipsos poll showed that a majority of Americans support federal funding for Planned Parenthood’s preventive services, and strongly oppose attempts to block millions of patients across the country from accessing care at Planned Parenthood’s health centers.

    Fully 54 percent of people said they support federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and just 26 percent oppose. When asked about federal funding for reproductive health services generally, compared to funding for the same services at Planned Parenthood specifically, respondents were more supportive (by as much as 10 percent) of funding health care services at Planned Parenthood.

  9. An NBC-WSJ poll showed that Planned Parenthood has a significantly higher favorability rating than any other group or individual tested — including the U.S. Supreme Court, President Obama, both political parties, and key Republicans running for president.

  10. And a Fox News poll showed that voters agree that Planned Parenthood should continue to receive federal funding. In addition, the Fox News poll found that more voters than not view Planned Parenthood positively.

  11. A nationwide USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll found that two-thirds of Americans continue to support funding for Planned Parenthood.

  12. Rasmussen Report found that voter attitudes about Planned Parenthood had not  changed approximately  three months after  the release of the first video from CMP — a majority of Americans still viewed Planned Parenthood favorably.

  13. Associated Press-GfK found that 69 percent of those surveyed do not support forcing a government shutdown to block Planned Parenthood's funding, and less than half of Republicans would entertain this idea.

  14. USA TODAY/Suffolk University also found that Americans overwhelmingly oppose cutting off federal funds for Planned Parenthood, with the majority of those surveyed responding that funding should not be eliminated.

  15. A POLITICO-Harvard poll found that 70 percent of Clinton voters — and 48 percent of Trump voters —  are in favor of continued federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

  16. An additional poll conducted by Hart Research showed that  60% of voters overall oppose cutting off funds from  Planned Parenthood, including 65% of women.

In addition to the widespread, steady support and trust people all over the country place in Planned Parenthood, national polls show Americans believe women should be able to access abortion safely and legally.

  • A Bloomberg Politics national poll found that 67 percent of Americans surveyed said the Supreme Court was right to rule that women have a constitutional right to abortion.

  • A poll from Perry/Undem shows that nearly two-thirds (63 percent) of participants said state level anti-abortion laws are going in the wrong direction. And, when asked to choose one word to describe their reaction to the list of new state restrictions, many chose words like “unfair,” “wrong,” “disgusted,” “ridiculous,” and “angry.”

  • A PerryUndem poll commissioned by Vox found that the majority of Americans oppose restrictions meant to shutter health centers or make it more difficult for women to access abortion, and that 70 percent  of Americans don’t want to see Roe v. Wade overturned.

  • A PerryUndem poll commissioned by the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health found that 67 percent of Latino voters do not want to see Roe v. Wade overturned, and that 69 percent of Latino voters said they believe abortion should remain legal regardless of whether church leaders oppose it being overturned.

 

Since the “defund” attacks began last year, polls in political swing states continue to show extremely strong support for Planned Parenthood.

Five separate Public Policy Polling polls, conducted in the key 2016 swing states of North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, show that a majority of voters reported being  less likely to vote for candidates who want to block patients from care at Planned Parenthood health centers. The findings show that support for Planned Parenthood cuts across party lines, resonating with not just Democrats but independent voters — a key electoral demographic  — and more than a third of Republican voters in each state.

  • In North Carolina 80 percent of independent voters and even 38 percent of Republicans in the state reporting a positive opinion of Planned Parenthood.

  • In Nevada, 65 percent of voters report a positive view of Planned Parenthood, with 50 percent reporting a “very” positive view of the nonprofit health care provider.

  • In New Hampshire, 55 percent of voters say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who wants to “defund” Planned Parenthood.  

  • In Ohio, positive feelings about Planned Parenthood transcend party lines as well, with 51 percent of independent voters and even 41 percent of Republicans in the state reporting a positive opinion of Planned Parenthood.

  • In Pennsylvania, 60 percent of voters report a positive view of Planned Parenthood, with 44 percent reporting a “very” positive view of the nonprofit health care provider. Even 41 percent of Republicans in the state have a positive view of Planned Parenthood.

Three surveys conducted by Hart Research show that despite attacks from anti-abortion extremists and their allies in Congress, voters in the battleground states of New Hampshire, Ohio, and Pennsylvania strongly support Planned Parenthood. The polls found strong opposition to blocking patients using Medicaid from accessing the preventive health services, including cancer screenings and birth control, that Planned Parenthood provides to millions of women in communities across the country — as well as overwhelming opposition to a government shutdown over Planned Parenthood.

Key findings from the surveys include:

  • 66 percent of New Hampshire voters oppose blocking patients from accessing Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services, including 72 percent of Independents.

  • 65 percent of Ohio voters oppose blocking patients from accessing Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services, including 59 percent of Independents.

  • 69 percent of Pennsylvania voters oppose blocking patients from accessing Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services, including 69 percent of Independents.

  • Large majorities of voters in each state (65 percent in New Hampshire, 60 percent in Ohio, and 65 percent in Pennsylvania) do not believe that blocking patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood is justified by the deceptively edited videos released by anti-abortion extremists.

  • Overwhelming majorities of voters in each state (75 percent in New Hampshire, 74 percent in Ohio, and 76 percent in Pennsylvania), including majorities of Republican voters, have an unfavorable reaction to the idea of shutting down the federal government to block any funding for Planned Parenthood.

  • By a two to one margin, voters in all three states are less likely to vote to re-elect their senators if they vote to block patients from accessing care at Planned Parenthood.

An additional Poll in Maine from Hart Research found that 70 percent of Maine voters oppose the attempt by congressional Republicans to end all government funding for Planned Parenthood, with 55 percent strongly opposed.

Millennials are a critical voting demographic, and according to a poll of Cosmopolitan readers —conducted in partnership with John Della Volpe, CEO of SocialSphere and director of polling at the Harvard Institute for Politics—reproductive rights, health care and racism are among their top priorities. In fact, millennials voters reported prioritizing reproductive rights and health care as their most important issues for the 2016  election. The poll found that 68 percent of  those  surveyed listed health care as their top priority, and 61 percent listed reproductive rights as the top issue for them in the 2016  election — above national security or jobs.  

 

Millions of supporters fought back attacks against Planned Parenthood on Pink Out Day 2015.

September 29, 2015, was dubbed “National Pink Out Day.” Volunteers, allies, and supporters wore pink, attended events, held press conferences, and gathered together to stand with Planned Parenthood in all 50 states.

  • In Albuquerque, NM, Baltimore, MD, Boise, ID, St. Louis, MO, and Raleigh, NC, over 100 volunteers and supporters attended rallies, and in Los Angeles, CA, New York City, NY, Portland, ME, and Philadelphia, PA, crowds swelled to over 300.  And it wasn’t just rallies: Other supporters celebrated Pink Out by hiking through Park City, UT; in Concord, NH, supporters gathered at night to light up the state capitol; and in Fairbanks, AK, volunteers braved the snow to show their support.

  • Additionally, 28 sites offered free STD testing, and more than 100 patients and supporters joined 21 members of Congress in Washington, DC, to deliver petitions with more than 2.4 million signatures asking Congress not to block patients from accessing care through the reproductive health care nonprofit. Ads in support of Planned Parenthood also appeared across a number of political news sites, including the Washington Post, New York Times, Politico, Mother Jones, and Daily Kos. The ads mirror the sentiment of Pink Out Day in their copy: "Birth Control, Cancer Screenings, Reproductive Rights and Planned Parenthood are worth fighting for."

  • Pink Out Day also saw hundreds of thousands of supporters fighting back on social media. All day, #PinkOut trended in the top 3 nationally and it reached number 7 globally. Nearly 500,000 people “pinked out” their Facebook and Twitter pages, and the #PinkOut Thunderclap reached over 7.8 million people.  

A diverse coalition of 373 organizations participated in Pink Out Day as well, including MoveOn.org, CREDO Action, and People for the American Way--helping to organize grassroots events across the country, gathering signatures on grassroots petitions in support of Planned Parenthood and against the latest attacks on reproductive health.

Tags: Planned Parenthood, Poll, Facts

Is Abortion Still Legal in My State?

Learn about abortion access changes in your state.

Get the Facts

Tell Our Courts: Save Mifepristone!

We should be able to trust our courts to respect science and follow the law. It's time for our leaders to hear us, loud and clear: The attack on mifepristone is a gross injustice that could harm millions of people.

Speak Out Now

Planned Parenthood Action Fund Will NEVER Back Down

Know this: our right to abortion is not debatable. We will rebuild and reclaim the freedom that is ours.

Donate

Sign Up for Email

Sign Up

We and our third partners use cookies and other tools to collect, store, monitor, and analyze information about your interaction with our site to improve performance, analyze your use of our sites and assist in our marketing efforts. You may opt out of the use of these cookies and other tools at any time by visiting Cookie Settings. By clicking “Allow All Cookies” you consent to our collection and use of such data, and our Terms of Use. For more information, see our Privacy Notice.

Cookie Settings

We, and our third-party partners, use cookies, pixels, and other tracking technologies to collect, store, monitor, and process certain information about you when you access and use our services, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences, or your device. We use that information to make the site work, analyze performance and traffic on our website, to provide a more personalized web experience, and assist in our marketing efforts. We also share information with our social media, advertising, and analytics partners. You can change your default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our Necessary Cookies as they are deployed to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information, please see our Privacy Notice.

Marketing

On

We use online advertising to promote our mission and help constituents find our services. Marketing pixels help us measure the success of our campaigns.

User Feedback and Session Replay

On

We use qualitative data from LogRocket, UserZoom, Hotjar and AB Tasty to learn about your user experience and improve our products and services. LogRocket allows us to view session replays.