Polls show Americans support funding Planned Parenthood while passing a 20-week abortion ban
Eight in 10 Americans oppose cutting federal funding to Planned Parenthood (PP) if the money is used for non-abortion services like breast cancer screening, new Quinnipiac poll results published Friday show; and a smaller majority, 62 percent, supports preserving funding when the money's use is not specified. The same survey found that 58 percent of Americans support some abortion restrictions, while 28 percent say it should be legal in all cases and 9 percent want it to be illegal always. Some 70 percent of respondents, including 43 percent of self-identified Republicans, said they agree with the landmark 1973 Supreme Court case, Roe v. Wade.
However, a Marist poll also released this week in advance of the March for Life in Washington paints a more complex picture. That survey found nearly a quarter of those who identify as "pro-life" or "pro-choice" sometimes think the other label applies. Only 35 percent said they support using tax dollars to pay for abortions (a question asked without reference to PP specifically), while 61 percent said they oppose it. Strikingly, the Marist poll also found 59 percent of Americans would support "banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy except to save the life of the mother," a proposal President Trump has said he would sign into law.
The Marist survey was funded by the Knights of Columbus, a Catholic organization, and has a 1.9 percent margin of error. The Quinnipiac margin of error is 2.8 percent.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
-
How Elon Musk is transforming American government
Talking Points Trump's ally is moving 'with lightning speed'
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
4 ways to pay down student loan debt faster
the explainer Some of these changes may seem minuscule, but they add up over time
By Becca Stanek, The Week US Published
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top Grammys
Speed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump tariffs on Canada, Mexico, China rattle markets
Speed read The tariffs on America's top three trading partners are expected to raise the prices of everything from gas and cars to tomatoes and tequila
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Elon Musk operatives access US payment system, aid
Speed Read The Trump administration has given Musk's team access to the Treasury payment system, allowing him to track and control government spending
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump says 25% tariffs on Canada, Mexico start Feb. 1
Speed Read The tariffs imposed on America's neighbors could drive up US prices and invite retaliation
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Trump blames diversity, Democrats for DC air tragedy
Speed Read The president suggested that efforts to recruit more diverse air traffic controllers contributed to the deadly air crash
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
White House withdraws Trump's spending freeze
Speed Read President Donald Trump's budget office has rescinded a directive that froze trillions of dollars in federal aid and sowed bipartisan chaos
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
OpenAI announces ChatGPT Gov for government use
Speed Read The artificial intelligence research company has launched a new version of its chatbot tailored for the US government
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Caroline Kennedy urges Senate to reject RFK Jr.
Speed Read Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s cousin said he should not become President Donald Trump's health secretary, calling his medical views 'dangerous'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
GOP senator reneged on voting against Hegseth
Speed Read North Carolina senator Thom Tillis provided the deciding vote to confirm Pete Hegseth as defense secretary
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published