Thirteenth National Poll Confirms: Americans Unwavering in Support for Planned Parenthood

For Immediate Release: Oct. 28, 2015

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New Associated Press-GfK poll shows only 1 in 4 would entertain shutting down government over Planned Parenthood funding

Washington, DC — A new national poll from AP- GfK found that despite months of unyielding political attacks from anti-women’s health activists and politicians, the vast majority of Americans continue to support Planned Parenthood.

In this latest poll, 69% of respondents firmly asserted that they would not shut down the government in an effort to defund the women’s health care provider. The Associated Press added, “only 1 in 4 overall backed forcing a shutdown to block Planned Parenthood's money, including fewer than half of Republicans. The GOP has unsuccessfully tried halting the group's federal payments because of abortions and fetal tissue donations it performs.”

In the months since the latest attacks on Planned Parenthood launched, national polls have found broad, deep support for the organization and its ability to provide health care services to millions of people — and the public has mobilized on behalf of Planned Parenthood.

All thirteen national polls conducted in the wake of these attacks show strong support for Planned Parenthood and extraordinarily strong opposition to shutting down the government over Planned Parenthood federal funding.

• A New York Times/CBS News Poll taken in the middle of the 2015 defunding 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 this recent budget fight; more Americans would blame Republicans than other political actors if the government were to shut down over the funding of Planned Parenthood.
• In a new Pew Research Center Poll, a supermajority 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.
• A Quinnipiac University National poll found that 69% of American voters — including 56% of Republican voters — oppose shutting down the federal government over funding Planned Parenthood. The majority of voters oppose defunding Planned Parenthood, and a strong 60% percent of women oppose defunding the organization.
• 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 Sept 28 poll demonstrates that American attitudes about Planned Parenthood are virtually unchanged after extremists released a series of deceptively edited videos.
• The latest poll from CNN/ORC found that 7 out of 10 Americans oppose shutting down the government in order to defund Planned Parenthood. Even the majority of those who labeled themselves as “Conservative” agree that it is more important to avoid a government shutdown than defund Planned Parenthood, and a strong 76% of respondents who make under $50K a year share the same view.
• A poll from Hart research found that 64% of voters, including 72% of Independents, disagree with attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. Only 28% of voters support efforts to defund Planned Parenthood, and voters overwhelmingly say they would support a candidate who favors funding Planned Parenthood over a candidate who supports defunding the organization.
• A recent YouGov poll found that a solid majority of Americans have a favorable view of Planned Parenthood — virtually unchanged from a year ago. 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.
• 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% of people said they support federal funding for Planned Parenthood, and just 26% 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%) of funding health care services at Planned Parenthood.
• A  recent NBC-WSJ poll shows 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.
• And a recent Fox News poll showed that voters agree that Planned Parenthood should continue to receive federal funding, even after the video attacks this summer. In addition, the Fox News poll found that more voters than not view Planned Parenthood positively.
• A nationwide USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll found that two-thirds of Americans continue to support funding for Planned Parenthood.
• A new Rasmussen Report found that voter attitudes about Planned Parenthood have not changed in the nearly three months since the release of the first video from CMP — a majority of Americans still view Planned Parenthood favorably.
• A new poll from Associated Press-GfK found that 69% of those surveyed do not support forcing a government shutdown to block Planned Parenthood's funding, andless than half of Republicans would entertain this idea.

National poll shows Americans believe women have right to safe and legal abortion.

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

Polls in political swing states since these attacks began also show extremely strong support for Planned Parenthood.

Three new surveys conducted by Hart Research show that despite weeks of 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 defunding 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% of New Hampshire voters oppose defunding Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services, including 72% of Independents.
• 65% of Ohio voters oppose defunding Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services, including 59% of Independents.
• 69% of Pennsylvania voters oppose defunding Planned Parenthood’s preventive health services, including 69% of Independents.
• Large majorities of voters in each state (65% in New Hampshire, 60% in Ohio, and 65% in Pennsylvania) do not believe that defunding is justified by the deceptively edited videos released in recent weeks by anti-abortion extremists.
• Overwhelming majorities of voters in each state (75% in New Hampshire, 74% in Ohio, and 76% 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 2 to 1 margin, voters in all three states are less likely to vote to re-elect their senators if they vote to defund Planned Parenthood.

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

Millions of supporters fought back against these unprecedented attacks against Planned Parenthood at 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 patient and supporters joined 21 members of Congress in Washington, DC, to deliver petitions with more than 2.4 million signatures asking Congress not to defund 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 recent attacks on reproductive health.  

About Planned Parenthood Action Fund:

Planned Parenthood affiliates provide health care to 2.7 million patients every year — including lifesaving cancer screenings, preventive health care, birth control, and abortion services. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s leading women’s health provider and advocate. Planned Parenthood Action Fund works to ensure that people continue to have access to those health care and education services — by advocating for laws and policies that protect women’s health, and educating voters about how candidates’ positions would affect women’s health.

If you have any questions, please contact the Planned Parenthood Action Fund media line at [email protected].