GOP Candidates Double Down on Extreme Positions on Women’s Health

For Immediate Release: Feb. 16, 2016

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Washington, D.C. – In tonight’s Republican debate we saw what America would look like if any of the GOP candidates were elected. If they had their way women wouldn’t be able to access abortion, millions would be blocked from access to essential, lifesaving care at Planned Parenthood, and insurance coverage of birth control would be slashed.

Quote from Dawn Laguens, Vice President of Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

“Tonight we saw what’s at stake in the election. Every single GOP presidential candidate would ban access to safe, legal abortion, block access to birth control, cancer screenings, and sex education at Planned Parenthood for millions of Americans, and slash insurance coverage of birth control. They’re out of touch with the everyday lives of the American people and they’d be a disaster if elected to the White House. The American people want a president that will build on the progress we have made --- not a president who would take us back decades to a time where women weren’t able to make their own health care decisions.”

14 national polls have shown widespread popular support for Planned Parenthood and the care it provides --- and strong opposition to attempts to block patients from accessing care at the non-profit health care provider.

Tonight’s Fact Checks:

Let’s Look At Ohio, And the Devastation John Kasich Has Caused for Women

Even Rubio Calls Cruz Out for Lying About Planned Parenthood

FACT CHECK: Donald Trump Doesn’t Think Women Should Have Access To Abortion

Background: A majority of Americans disagree with these GOP candidates, and want women to have access to safe, legal abortion.

• 68 percent of Millennials don't want to see Roe v. Wade overturned. [Pew Research Center, 1/16/13]

• 64 percent of voters younger than 30 said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, compared with 58% of voters 30 and older. [Pew Research Center, 11/26/12]

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

• VOX: More Americans now consider themselves pro-choice than pro-life.

• Two-thirds (67 percent) of African Americans believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases. [Public Religion Research Institute, 7/26/12]

• A 2012 exit poll results show two-thirds of Latinos agreed abortion should be legal (66 vs. 28 percent who disagreed). In fact, Latino voters were more supportive of legal abortion than voters overall (59 percent overall supported legal abortion vs. 37 who disagreed). [ABC News, 11/12/12]

• 72 percent of Republicansthink abortion should be available. [New York Times/CBS News Poll, 2/14]