FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 7, 2018
Contact: Audrey Sandusky, 202-344-5805, asandusky@nfprha.org
Poll: US Adults Overwhelmingly Support Access to Publicly Funded Contraceptive Care, Contrary to Recent Trump Administration Actions
WASHINGTON, DC – A national public opinion poll released today by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) shows a vast majority of adults are in favor of the way the nation’s publicly funded family planning provider network was designed to serve low-income patients – with comprehensive, high-quality family planning and sexual health care services and information.
Nine in ten (89%) agree that people should be able to seek out birth control methods and reproductive health care from specialized family planning providers. The results are in contrast to the changes the administration is seeking to make that would undermine access to high-quality preventive health services for low-income people by diverting funds from family planning providers that deliver essential clinical care, instead prioritizing non-health care entities or inexperienced providers that emphasize abstinence only until marriage.
The release of NFPRHA’s poll coincides with the 53rd anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, a landmark Supreme Court case that legalized contraceptive use by married couples and established an individual’s right to privacy in family planning decisions.
The poll finds that 93% of respondents agree that access to birth control methods is important when it comes to preventing unintended pregnancy. Furthermore, 81% of adults feel the public needs both access to health care and education to prevent unintended pregnancy, a cornerstone of the Title X family planning program and one that the Trump administration’s latest funding opportunity announcement and proposed Title X rule seek to dilute.
“The administration is trying to unravel a popular public health program that has provided high-quality preventive health care to millions of low-income women and men for nearly half a century,” said Clare Coleman, President & CEO of NFPRHA. “But our polling shows that US adults strongly believe that access to clinical care is key to protecting the public’s health and preventing unintended pregnancy.”
Conducted by Morning Consult, the national poll sampled 2,201 adults across the country to gain a clearer understanding of how adults feel about family planning and sexual health care issues more than 50 years after Griswold v. Connecticut. The Griswold case paved the way for all women and men in the US to access high-quality family planning services and was one of the catalysts for the Title X family planning program, signed into law in 1970 by President Richard Nixon.
Over the last decade, the Title X family planning program, the nation’s only dedicated source of funding for family planning, has endured nearly stagnant funding, while the demand for services has grown. Today, the network funded by Title Xcan only serve about one fifth of women in need of publicly funded care. Furthermore, numerous state efforts are currently underway to restrict providers from receiving Medicaid reimbursements and participating in Title X and state family planning programs.
“As family planning advocates nationwide recognize the 53rd anniversary of Griswold v. Connecticut, it is critical that policymakers stand on the side of public health and support family planning providers who work every day to meet the health care needs of women and men across the country," said Coleman.
To mark the observance, NFPRHA is hosting a congressional briefing on June 13, “The Gold Standard: Patient-Centered Care in the Title X Family Planning Program.” The briefing will be held at 12:00 p.m. ET in 385 Russell Senate Office Building. For more info and to RSVP: tinyurl.com/Griswold2018.
Morning Consult conducted the online survey of 2,201 adults from April 9-10, 2018. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 2 percentage points.
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The National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA) is a membership organization representing providers and administrators committed to helping people get the family planning education and care they need to make the best choices for themselves and their loved ones. NFPRHA works to enhance the ability of thousands of nurse practitioners, doctors, and other health professionals to provide high-quality family planning care through training and advocacy. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.