The Quickie: New TX Polling Finds Widespread Opposition to Abortion Bans Among Latinas and Republican Women 

Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

In today’s Quickie: New polling shows South Texas Latinas and Republican women are more motivated to vote by the state’s extreme abortion ban, and PP Gen Action activist Noella Williams honored as College Woman of the Year!

NEW TX POLLING FINDS WIDESPREAD OPPOSITION TO ABORTION BANS AMONG LATINAS AND REPUBLICAN WOMEN: Yesterday, Planned Parenthood Texas Votes released new polling from Change Research that found strong support for abortion access among Latinas in South Texas and Republican women across the state. Both constituencies reported opposition to Texas’s total abortion ban and motivation to vote in the midterms, with early voting beginning yesterday in Texas. Some key findings from the new poll:

• Abortion access and reproductive rights are key issues for Latinas in South Texas: 63% say they will support abortion rights candidates this election; of those, 96% report that they are more motivated to vote as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.
• Abortion is fracturing the GOP: one in three Republican women support the right to an abortion in all or most cases and 51% oppose criminalization of abortion. Only 12% align with state politicians’ extremist agenda  to make abortion illegal in all circumstances without exception.

"This poll shows what we have been seeing and hearing from voters throughout this campaign. A winning coalition of Texans from all different backgrounds — regardless of race, religion, or political party — are ready to show up and elect leaders who will restore abortion access this November," said Dyana Limon-Mercado, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Texas Votes. "Women across the state have made it clear that they do not support Greg Abbott's extreme abortion bans. More than religion or party, Texans value freedom and family, and most importantly, the freedom to decide what is best for their family. This November, we will harness our collective power to take back our state and restore the rights of every Texan to control their own bodies, lives, and futures."

See the full polling data here. 

PLANNED PARENTHOOD GENERATION ACTION ACTIVIST NOELLA WILLIAMS NAMED COLLEGE WOMAN OF THE YEAR: Last week, Glamour named Noella Williams, a Planned Parenthood Generation Action (Gen Action) activist, its College Woman of the Year. Williams, a now graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, worked with Gen Action to oppose abortion restrictions and protest anti-abortion politicians in Florida. Williams and her fellow activists went viral in January for speaking out against Florida’s 16-week abortion ban in Tallahassee. 

“There’s this one book, Shelter in a Time of Storm,” Williams said. “It taught me about how different HBCUs were the threshold for radical change and politics, and I wish that were more present on my campus. There are so many organizations—Planned Parenthood, Gen Action, and Spectrum, a club for queer students—but I wish there were more spaces. I joined Gen Action my first semester, and we did a campaign for access to period products across campus because it would be beneficial and students wouldn’t have to walk across campus all the way to the infirmary to get free menstrual products. Gen Action taught me you just have to keep pushing because the student government or administration isn’t going to prioritize that and we have to keep our foot on them.”

Read the full feature at Glamour.

Design by Channing Smith, Glamour. Images Courtesy of Noella Williams.