Defunding Planned Parenthood Opposed By Most Americans: Polls

WASHINGTON -- Six states -- Texas, Indiana , North Carolina, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and Kansas -- have defunded Planned Parenthood during the 2011 legislative sessions because some of its clinics provide abortions, but several recent polls suggest that a majority of American voters oppose cutting off funds to the family planning provider.

According to a new Gallup poll, only 40 percent of Americans surveyed would support a law prohibiting health clinics that provide abortions from receiving any federal funds. Only one-third of respondents polled by Harris Interactive/Health Day in 2011 think that Planned Parenthood should be defunded, compared to 55 percent of voters who said the organization's funding should be kept in place.

Abortions account for less than 3 percent of Planned Parenthood's services. And though the Hyde Amendment already prohibits taxpayer money from being used to pay for abortions, many anti-abortion advocates oppose the federal funding of Planned Parenthood because they believe the money could indirectly be used to fund the procedure.

"Personally I am glad they have defunded Planned Parenthood," Therese Burch of Monrovia, Calif., told HuffPost. "Abortion is their main bread and butter, no matter what they tell us."

"My tax dollars should not be devoted to birth control or abortions," said David Wilkerson of Louisville, Ky., in an email. "Where do folks think those state funds come from?"

Other voters can testify to the life-saving services Planned Parenthood offers to those who cannot afford or would have difficulty accessing basic medical care.

"I am grateful to Planned Parenthood for the care I received during the years I was uninsured," wrote Julie Collura of Portland, Ore. "If not for PP, those pre-cancerous cells would not have been found and may have become ovarian cancer. I may indeed owe my life to PP."

Cecile Richards, President of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, spends a lot of her time trying to set the record straight on the central purpose of her organization, which she says is to provide pap smears, STI screenings, breast exams and contraceptives to 3 million low-income and uninsured men and women each year.

"Ninety-seven percent of our services are basic preventative care," she told HuffPost in an interview. "This is not about funding for Planned Parenthood. It's about cutting off the largest provider of family planning in America to women. It's about the health and well-being of the 3 million patients that come through our doors every single year."

"Men and women of all parties and all walks of life are concerned about these kinds of efforts to play politics with women's health care access," Richards told HuffPost. "We've been overwhelmed by the support of folks all over the country."

Popular support for Planned Parenthood could play heavily into the upcoming elections, especially in states where GOP lawmakers have pushed defunding legislation. Planned Parenthood of Indiana saw a flood of donations from all over the world after it was defunded by lawmakers in May, and a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll found that more 53 percent of all respondents and 60 percent of women ages 18 to 49 found it "mostly or totally unacceptable" to cut off money to the family planning provider.

Comments

[goyabean122]

09:47 PM on 09/27/2011

When will they get it? If a % of tax dollars don't go to Planned Parenthood, much more than that will go to foster care, public assistance, and medicade. So many people don't think long term. I work in an inner city school, I see and it's sad.

[macrose83]

03:20 PM on 08/24/2011

I just read where a gallup poll shows All GOP canidates are even with Obama in the polls. Yet all GOP canidates and the Republican party in general oppose planned parenthood. So, if most Americans are for it and the Republicans are against it, How is this possible. Wake up voters if you really want to lose your freedom and your rights and what little there is left of public services then you are indeed a republican. VOTE DEM. it is the only America I want to be a part of. But maybe when they destroy it all, the supporters of these Dicators will wake up. Maybe.

[La Elle]

11:56 AM on 08/20/2011

Planned parenthood was a lifesaver for me when I was in college and just graduating. I didn't have health insurance, so I depended on PP for my yearly exams and birth control. This organization has been a lifesaver to many young women. Of course, in the eyes of republi-cons, women are considered lesser beings, and their only purpose in life is to remain barefoot and pregnant. This is why the rabid right wants to do away with PP.

[Silverwolf72]

12:21 PM on 08/03/2011

The best solution to abortions is to help keeping them from have unwanted pregnancies.
I just don't understand the get rid of the 99% good they do for the 1% of the abortions I don't agree with mentality
This is one of those button issues, they can disagree with 99% of what a person stands for but vote for him because of one issue..

[Bruce Barron]

02:53 PM on 08/01/2011

The court’s decision in Roe’s favor rested on two premises: a woman’s "right to privacy," and the belief that the beginning of life cannot be pinpointed. Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun wrote the majority decision in Roe v. Wade, stating, "We need not resolve the difficult question of when life begins. When those trained in the respective disciplines of medicine, philosophy and theology are unable to arrive at any consensus, the judiciary, at this point in the development of man’s knowledge, is not in a position to speculate as to the answer."18

Why don't they need to resolve it and there were 49 other States that might have done so.Giving the right to one woman "all" women must necessarily have this right.This case can only belong to the State of Texas.In the SCOTUS decision they considered everyone to be as ignorant as they were.They didn't even know the definition of life which is self-evident which everyone knows.Any thing with intrinsic self motion,a simple cell,a tree,is obviously alive.

That likes generates like is self-evident.When the ovum and sperm of a woman and man unite a new being or new thing or something newly conceived a produces a totally new thing; this thing must have a name or it is nothing.Whaterver terms used to describe are due to size and maturation.Size does not define anything.
This new thing is necessarily a "person" and totally different from its generators.

[synergie]

02:38 AM on 08/05/2011

Personhood is conferred upon birth with the first breath. Or else choriocarcinomas are people.

This thing has a name, at every step of the way, but until viable birth, it does not have rights, it does not have autonomy, it is not a person.

[whistlerc42]

03:50 PM on 08/05/2011

synergie: i reading your posts i notice you make many assertions with no reference or proof. human life begins at conception, that is why we have no doubt as to what will be produced when it is "born" a choriocarcinoma is not a baby, it is the name of cancer cells that develop from what would/could be the placenta. sometimes the cancer prevents the development of a child, but a child can develop in spite of the choriocarcinoma. bruce barron quoted scotus in an unbelievable statement that they dont know when life begins, of course it begins at conception. if it were not for those ignoring the obvious we wouldnt even be having this discussion. also there is no right to privacy in the constitution, the judges legislated that by misinterpretation of a couple of clauses.

[OGigi]

10:35 AM on 08/01/2011

What's new. Most of these types of things are supported by the majority of folks. Country obviously does not function that way anymore. The few, not the many and certainly we are seeing what the few really think about the least of us.

[Watch Maker]

07:12 PM on 07/31/2011

The same people that want to refuse you the right to an abortion

want to refuse you birth control
refuse you medical insurance and welfare / food stamps
refuse the unwanted babies to be adopted by anyone other than heterosexual married couples.

Seems as though 'they' have no clue what they are doing.

[wdw808]

09:02 PM on 07/31/2011

we are refusing you federal dollars

wow

thanks for playing

[synergie]

02:40 AM on 08/05/2011

You don't have the right to do so, by legal, moral or ethical means.

Thanks for wasting time, money and lots of energy.

[whistlerc42]

12:23 AM on 08/01/2011

watch maker: you say "they have not clue" when we know exactly what we're are doing. we dont want to refuse birth control, medical insurance food or housing to anyone, we just want the recipient to PAY for it like we do instead of billing the tax-payer (us).why does anyone have the right to expect others to support them? i have several friends that have adopted from Romania and china because there are not enough to go around in the USA.you are correct that we want them adopted by heterosexual couples so they have a chance to grow up in a normal environment. i read comments on these posts from "gays"(what a waste of a good word) claiming they knew by the time they were 4 yrs old. that's is absurd, any scholarly study in child development will inform you that 4 yr olds hardly know what sex they are much less anyone else. also boys and girls both go through a time from about 8 to 10 where "girls are yucky" and boys are "icky".they outgrow it. many authorities say that guys make the change over by age 14, while girls may take a little longer,maybe 16.by this age it is a matter of choice. every living thing on the planet is designed to reproduce, two men cant, two women cant, its unnatural, period.

[leskataus]

01:50 AM on 08/01/2011

What about heterosexual couples that are capable of reproducing but choose not to purely because they don't want children? I find it interesting how people will claim that two men or two women living together is natural because they can't reproduce but they have no answer for heterosexual couples who don't reproduce because they don't want to.

[wdw808]

01:02 PM on 07/31/2011

everyone should have insurance with obamacare.........laughing.......it is time to change the rules

[Maezeppa]

08:50 PM on 07/31/2011

Everyone will, you included.

[wdw808]

08:59 PM on 07/31/2011

well good then we should reject anyone without insurance for anything not immediately life threatening as soon as obamacare goes into play

laughing

[whistlerc42]

12:32 AM on 08/01/2011

maezeppa: sorry to disappoint you, but no one is going to have insurance under obamacare. insurance is a"pooled risk" where everyone pays into it, however obama has already issued so many waivers to big labor, and big business that,like everything else the llibs do, there will not be enough money collected to pay for it. that's where the rationing and "death panel" comes in. and dont start insulting my intelligence about "death panels", read the law. obamacare sets up an independent review commission that will decide whether or not a procedure is cost effective. if it isnt you dont get it. dont get it you die. and just how "independent" do you think that panel will be? think bill o'reilly , hannity, or limbaugh will be on it"HA,HA.

[MosesDidItBest]

08:36 AM on 07/31/2011

Throughout history the church has stood as a vanguard against progress wherever it saw a conflict between it's doctrine and science.

As civilization has advanced one of the last bastions of extreme conservatism has been against the rights of women.

It's a shame that they can't torture them and burn them at the stake anymore as a public show of pirty and devotion. No, now they would just as soon see them dead.

Religion has no place in politics and politics has no place in a woman's uterus unless you're Newt Gingrich.

[wdw808]

12:56 PM on 07/31/2011

good then federal tax dollars have no business in PP

[Maezeppa]

08:51 PM on 07/31/2011

American voters and Americans generally want the government to support Planned Parenthood.

[Helloise]

01:07 PM on 07/31/2011

I almost said Amen, but I'll change that to, right on. But, I will also say, as the polls reflect, that most cognitively aware human beings understand the difference between dogma and reality when it comes to their own health and family planning. If they are honest with themselves, they will go to the polls next time and vote out the regressive gop guv's perpetrating this undemocratic outrage on their constituents purely to attract more supporters to their true purpose, complete privatization of the government.

[whistlerc42]

12:47 AM on 08/01/2011

helloise: those "regressive gop guv's" were elected by the "majority" of voters which proves tht your polls are wrong, therefore there is nothing "undemocratic" about what they are doing. the GOP is not opposed to women's health nor do they "want them dead" as the church-basher above says, they just want the 3 million served by PP to PAY for their own like the other 166 million women in the country do. (or solicit donations, look at the susan froman foundation for example). just go back to writing your "household hints"

[eyeforeye42]

07:16 AM on 07/31/2011

Rather than defund planned parenthood, how about a membership fee for belonging to a political party. It costs us a lot of money dealing with political parties so we should charge for the inconvenience and pollution (especially noise and media pollution) they spew. They are free to speak just like they are free on the TV (after they pay for the service)

[champagne charlie]

06:54 AM on 07/31/2011

It's amazing how much power a minority of zealots wield in a democracy!

[Helloise]

01:08 PM on 07/31/2011

Ironically, fear of mob rule was one the most important concerns of the founders they claim to admire.

[whistlerc42]

03:16 AM on 08/01/2011

helloise: "mob-rule" is emotional, unreasonable,& illogical. all night i have offered reason, logic, facts, reference to the constitution in a calm manner. you emotional, illogical, unreasonable libs are the "mob"

[whistlerc42]

12:49 AM on 08/01/2011

champagne charlie: what is even more amazing is that you think a minority elected all these "zealots."

[leskataus]

01:40 AM on 08/01/2011

That's what happens when most people don't bother voting in elections. The extremists count on voter apathy because that's how they can get like minded people elected. Those people are motivated and they do vote in elections.

[lken06880]

06:26 AM on 07/31/2011

you don't suppose the opinions of the people matter to the gop, do you? it's all about the old boys network and what they want, not the will of the people.

[whistlerc42]

12:55 AM on 08/01/2011

iken06880: the will of the "majority" is what elected these people! it's people like you ,deluded by liberal lies, that cause the problems. btw,, have you seen the item from the Atlanta,Ga news (or perhaps other sources) about the US State Dept spending $770 million to restore mosques overseas? how do you like hillary spending your tax money (assuming you pay taxes) on these projects while we are in a major recession, and borrowing about $370 million of it?

[leskataus]

01:38 AM on 08/01/2011

Where are you getting your news? That's because I have not seen any of these stories on regular mainstream news outlets.

[lken06880]

07:13 AM on 08/25/2011

i believe we blew the mosques up when we bombed the cities, it is the same as rebuilding the cities. although i don't like the behavior of the militant muslims, their religion needs to be respected in the same way americans respect the christians, jews and other less common religions from other parts of the world that americans are less familiar with. your post would lead me to believe you are of another opinion about this subject.

[Badger33]

03:52 AM on 07/31/2011

Pssst! I am a pro-choice Catholic. Don't tell anybody but there are a lot of us.

[MosesDidItBest]

08:40 AM on 07/31/2011

I know a whole slew of them, but I won't tell anyone.

[Maezeppa]

10:38 AM on 07/31/2011

Your secret is safe with me.

[frenchyb93]

02:33 AM on 07/31/2011

For crying out loud - if a woman wants to have an abortion, she will find a way to do it. And it's HER body, it's HER right. Where Planned Parenthood comes in is when they monitor the actions and keep it safe - not someone gouging themselves in a back alley with a bent hanger because that's their only, non-harassed option! Yeah, that's how they used to do it, remember?
Abortions are only a small chunk of what PP does, don't ignore it. Would you rather have more families running around on welfare YOU pay for, or let someone have the option to easily obtain birth control? Not only what is going to cost you more, but what's going to keep everyone a little bit happier? Hmm?

For the religious zealots - God would not have given us the intelligence nor the tools to create birth control if he did not plan it to happen. Is it not that "God helps those who helps themselves' ? And the female body has NUMEROUS natural abortions, that many times a woman doesn't even notice! It happens. It's life.

[wdw808]

03:22 AM on 07/31/2011

cancel both

[Maezeppa]

10:39 AM on 07/31/2011

Most Americans say you are dead wrong.

[Jimmy P]

11:37 PM on 07/31/2011

Sure, she will find a way to kill her baby that didn't consent to it in the first place. That's why the whole structure of society needs to change so these circumstances that lead to abortion don't happen in the first place.

[Michelle Cabrera]

12:42 AM on 07/31/2011

Abortion is not only a choice, but it is also a right. You don't have to get one if you don't want to, and while you may find it "immoral", others find it useful, whatever their reasons be. Point is, why don't you mind your own business? In some countries women don't even have the choice to abort, which is upsetting considering their poor living conditions. For those screaming that abortion is murder and want it banned, would you rather see more Casey Anthonys running around, instead? I don't. Also, if you're against both abortion AND public assistance services you are a hypocrite.

[wdw808]

02:38 AM on 07/31/2011

how my federal dollars are spent is indeed my business..........no federal abortion or public assistance services

[lken06880]

06:29 AM on 07/31/2011

I guess you would rather support unwanted children, oh that's right, no abortions and no support for the babies once they arrive, i love the caring of people like you.

[Maezeppa]

10:41 AM on 07/31/2011

Most Americans strenuously disagree with you. Nobody agrees 100% with every federal program and guess what - that's reality so deal with it.

[AndyWright68]

04:28 AM on 07/31/2011

Most people should be against the immoral theft by government threats of violence to pay for things other people want.