Attitudes Toward People and Organizations
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Views of Planned Parenthood are mixed and polarized. A plurality (49 percent) of voters in Idaho are favorable toward Planned Parenthood. Intensity in favorability toward the organization is strongest among Democrats (67 percent very favorable), pro-choice voters (56 percent), voters who rarely attend religious services (41 percent), women (37 percent), and Latinx voters (37 percent).
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More than two-in-five (43%) are unfavorable toward Planned Parenthood, including more than one third (34%) who are very unfavorable. Men, Republicans (both men and women, young and old), voters in Idaho Falls, anti-choice voters, conflicted voters on choice, those who attend religious services often, Catholics, and Mormons are net-negative toward the organization.
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Idaho voters rate Right to Life Idaho with similar favorability but unfavorability is lower, and Right to Life Idaho is less well known. A plurality feel favorable (47 percent favorable, 29 percent very favorable). A fifth (22%) are unfavorable and 13% are very unfavorable. Democrats, pro-choice voters, and secular voters are net negative to Right to Life Idaho while other demographic and attitudinal subgroups are net positive.
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While President Trump and Republicans in the state Legislature have net-positive favorability, Democrats in the state Legislature are net-negative reflecting the gap in party identification. The U.S. Congress has net-negative favorability among Idaho voters.
Planned Parenthood
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The image of Planned Parenthood is mixed. A solid majority of voters believe Planned Parenthood is best described as: too political, confidential, and preventive. At least half also describe Planned Parenthood as informative and too focused on abortion. Less than one-third see the organization as low-quality or a leader, and voters are split between thinking Planned Parenthood can be described as being for everyone, trustworthy, expert, and high-quality or not.
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Women, Democrats, Independents, pro-choice voters, and Latinx voters are most likely to describe Planned Parenthood in positive terms like confidential, preventive, informative, caring, and strong.
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Nearly half of voters across gender, age, and race believe Planned Parenthood is too political and too focused on abortion.
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The bottom tier of descriptors voters associate with Planned Parenthood include expert (37%), high- quality (35%), a leader (32%), and low-quality (28%).
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Regression analysis shows key demographics and traits predict to favorable or unfavorable views of Planned Parenthood.
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Demographics and traits that predict favorability of Planned Parenthood: Pro-choice, Democratic, and thinking Planned Parenthood is trustworthy and preventive.
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Traits that predict unfavorable views of Planned Parenthood: Thinking Planned Parenthood is biased, too political, and too focused on abortion.
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Attitudes Toward Choice, Sex Ed, and Birth Control
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Forty-five percent of Idaho voters identify themselves as being pro-choice with 24% believing abortion should be legal and generally available and subject to only limited regulation, and 21% who believe regulation of abortion is necessary, although it should remain legal in many circumstances.
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Fifty-one (51) percent are anti-choice, with 39% who believe abortion should be legal only in the most extreme cases, and 12% who believe all abortion should be made illegal.
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The subgroups most likely to be pro-choice in their stance include Democrats and college educated voters.
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The subgroups most likely to be conflicted in their stance include voters in Idaho Falls, Latinx voters, and Mormons.
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The subgroups most likely to be anti-choice in their stance include Republicans and Mormons.
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A significantly higher proportion of Idaho voters are pro-choice (45%) than are Democratic (28%).
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Though a majority of voters are conflicted in their views of abortion, 65% believe it is important that women in Idaho have access to all of the reproductive health care options available, including abortion. Across party, 95% of Democrats, 66% of Independents, and 49% of Republicans believe it is important.
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An even stronger majority of voters believe it is important for there to be access to birth control for everyone who wants it or needs it (79 percent important, 64 percent very important) and that it is important for there to be access to 12 months of birth control for everyone who wants it or needs it (78 percent important, 54 percent very important).
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Access to birth control for everyone who wants or needs it is very important to 88% of pro-choice voters, 44% of anti-choice voters, and 59% of conflicted-on-choice voters.
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Access to birth control for everyone who wants or needs it is very important to 95% of Democrats, 62% of Independents, and 48% of Republicans.
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Sex ed is also a core value for Idaho voters across subgroups. A solid majority (81%) support teaching medically accurate, age-appropriate, comprehensive sex education in public schools, which would include information about abstinence, birth control, and sexually transmitted diseases. Sixty-two percent strongly support this and no subgroups are opposed. This includes 99% of Democrats, 82% of Independents, 70% of Republicans, 96% of pro-choice voters, 67% of anti-choice voters, and 79% of conflicted-on-choice voters.
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Among Idaho voters, statements centered around women’s freedom to plan, comprehensive sex education, and reproductive health care and birth control being part of basic health care rise to the top with strongest agreement.
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Women should have the freedom to plan if and when to have children – 87% agree, 74% strongly agree
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Students should be taught methods of avoiding pregnancy in addition to abstinence in sex education – 78% agree, 64% strongly agree
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We should require sex education that covers delaying sex and information about birth control and STIs – 82% agree, 61% strongly agree
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We should require sex education that covers healthy relationships and communication skills – 77% agree, 61% strongly agree
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Reproductive health care is basic health care and having access to it is important for economic well-being and stability – 83% agree, 60% strongly agree
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Birth control is part of health care overall – 74% agree, 57% strongly agree
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Though a majority agree that sexual and identity protections should be added to the state’s Human Rights Anti-Discrimination Law and that reproductive health care, including abortion, is part of health care overall, intensity is weak. Few agree that students should be taught only the method of avoiding pregnancy through abstinence in sex ed.
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Protestants and Catholics, though often cross-pressured, still agree with women having the freedom to plan if and when to have children; teaching students methods of avoiding pregnancy in addition to abstinence, delaying sex, information about birth control and STIs, healthy relationships, and communication skills in sex education; that reproductive healthcare is basic healthcare; and that birth control is part of health care overall.
Idaho Legislature
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Idaho voters are just as likely to think the state Legislature is putting too many restrictions on abortion (29%) as they are to think they are not putting enough (28%). Twenty-three percent are unsure and 21% believe the Legislature has put the right amount of restrictions on abortion.
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While 29% of voters are unsure about the amount of time the state Legislature spends focusing on the issue of abortion, 28% think they spend the right amount and 27% think they spend too much.
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Voters’ views toward the Legislature’s actions in the state correlate to their party identification, choice stance, education level, and religiosity.
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A plurality of voters in the state are less likely to vote for a candidate who voted to restrict access to abortion – 43 percent are less likely vs. 37 percent who are more likely, though intensity is low on both sides.
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Democrats (71%), Pro-choice voters (55%), Latinx voters (39%), Boise women (39%), and Spokane media market women (39%) are most likely to say they would be much less likely to vote for this candidate.
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Idaho Legislative Actions
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A law banning abortion with no exceptions raises the most serious doubts among voters, followed by a law that would immediately ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned, a law that bans abortion and criminalizes those who perform abortions, and a law that bans abortion based on gender, race, or disability of a fetus. Even the bottom tier of bills causes doubts among the majority of voters in the state, which consists of 6-week bans.
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A law that bans abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health of a woman – 72% raises doubts, 59% serious doubts
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A law that would immediately ban abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court – 68% raises doubts, 54% serious doubts
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A law that bans abortion and allows doctors who perform abortions to be charged with a felony and face up to 99 years in prison – 65% raises doubts, 52% serious doubts
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A law that bans abortion because of gender, race, or disability of a fetus – 64% raises doubts, 51% serious doubts
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A trigger law that bans abortion even in cases of rape or incest raises more serious doubts across all subgroups except among those who sometimes attend religious services (54%) compared to a law that would immediately ban abortion if Roe v. Wade was overturned without the mention of exceptions (43%).
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Leading with language highlighting how a bill would ban abortion after the last menstrual period raises slightly more serious doubts across subgroups (42%) than leading with language highlighting how the ban would occur once a fetal heartbeat is detected (35%).
The information provided was gathered by a telephone poll of 500 registered voters and was conducted by Lake Research Partners in 2019. The poll was commissioned by Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii.