For Immediate Release: Friday
, January 30, 2009
Contact: Ranit Schmelzer or Adrienne Ammerman, 202-588-5180
Opinion Survey Shows Broad Support Among Republicans and Independents for Reproductive Health Care Agenda
(Washington, DC) As the new Congress prepares its legislative agenda for the coming year, a new national opinion survey sponsored by the National Women’s Law Center and the YWCA USA demonstrates that Republicans and Independents strongly support an array of public policies to improve reproductive health care.
The survey of 1,000 Republican and Independent voters conducted by Public Strategies, Inc. found that Republicans, and to an even greater degree Independents, support a range of legislative proposals to make contraception more affordable and accessible. Additionally, Republicans and Independents strongly support comprehensive sex education, particularly as compared to abstinence-only programs. Support for a reproductive health care agenda focused on preventing unintended pregnancies extends to more conservative “strong” Republicans as well as more moderate Republicans and Independents.
“Now is a great opportunity for real change, and for lawmakers towork together to improve reproductive health care,” said Marcia Greenberger, Co-President of the National Women’s Law Center. “Republican and Independent voters overwhelmingly support improvements in reproductive health that will make a real difference in the lives of women and their families. Voters across the political spectrum want to see action on a range of reproductive health issues – from contraceptive coverage to comprehensive sex education.”
“The poll findings reveal that the reproductive rights debate is shifting and there are areas where real progress can be made,” said YWCA USA CEO, Dr. Lorraine Cole. “These survey findings, which show strong support for efforts to improve reproductive health, are particularly important as we work to overcome health disparities for women with low incomes.”
A striking finding of the survey was that nearly three-quarters (73%) of Republican and Independent voters are concerned that government is too quick to involve itself in people’s personal lives and private decisions when it comes to sexual behavior and pregnancy.
Other key findings include:
Contraception:
- Nearly three-quarters (72%) of Republicans and Independents favor legislation that would make it easier for people at all income levels to obtain contraception, and 70 percent favor legislation that would help make birth control more affordable. More than 60 percent of fundamentalist/evangelical Protestants favor these proposals.
- Only 2 percent of Republicans and Independents would like to see government restrict access to contraception. A majority (64%) would like to see government provide more information about contraception, and 33 percent would prefer that the government play no role.
- A strong majority of Independents (67%) and nearly half of Republicans (49%) have a favorable opinion of emergency contraception.
Sex Education:
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Only 8 percent of Republicans and Independents think the government should support abstinence-only education. A strong majority of Independents (76%) and Republicans (62%) believe the government should support comprehensive sex education programs that include information about abstinence, as well as information about contraception and sexually transmitted diseases.
- Self-identified “strong” Republicans prefer comprehensive sex education over abstinence-only education by a 56 percent to 14 percent margin.
- Two-thirds (67%) of Republicans and Independents prefer a Senate candidate who favors teaching comprehensive sex education in public schools over a candidate who favors teaching abstinence-only.
Pharmacy Refusals:
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Overall, more than half (51%) of Republicans and Independents strongly favor legislation that requires pharmacies to ensure that patients access contraception at their pharmacy of choice, even if a particular pharmacist has a moral objection to contraceptives and refuses to provide it.
- Self-identified “strong” Republicans favor such legislation by a 55 percent to 36 percent margin.
Abortion:
NWLC has developed a Platform for Progress with concrete proposals to address the unmet needs of women and their families in the areas of education, employment, basic economic security, health, and legal rights.To learn more about NWLC’s Platform for Progress, visit www.nwlc.org/platform, or view the sectionImproving Women’s Health at:http://action.nwlc.org/health.
To learn more about NWLC, or to schedule an interview with Marcia Greenberger, contact Adrienne Ammerman at 202-588-5180 or aammerman@nwlc.org.
The results are based on a national telephone survey of 1,000 self-identified Republican and Independent voters, conducted by Public Strategies, Inc. on behalf of the National Women’s Law Center and the YWCA. The interviews were conducted from September 30-October 8, 2008.
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The National Women's Law Center is a non-profit organization that has been working since 1972 to advance and protect women's legal rights. The Center focuses on major policy areas of importance to women and their families including economic security, education, employment and health, with special attention given to the concerns of low-income women. For more information on the Center, visit: www.nwlc.org.
The YWCA USA is a national not-for-profit membership organization dedicated to social service, advocacy, education, leadership development, and racial justice. Its mission is the empowerment of women and the elimination of racism. Established in the United States in 1858, the YWCA is the oldest and largest national women’s organization, and celebrating its 150th anniversary. Through its nearly 300 affiliated local YWCAs and its headquarters in Washington, D.C., the YWCA serves 2.5 million women and girls each year. Globally, the YWCA USA is a member of World YWCA, which has affiliates in 122 countries that serve 25 million women and girls worldwide. For more information, visit our website, www.ywca.org.
