FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: July 9, 2020
Contact: Kat Mavengere, 202-641-6184, kmavengere_consultant@nfprha.org
New Poll: A Majority of US Adults Believe Elected Officials Should Support Policies and Funding for Sexual Health during Coronavirus Pandemic
Poll Comes as SCOTUS Rules in Favor of Trump Administration Regulation Allowing a Drastic Expansion of Religious and Moral Exemptions to Contraceptive Coverage Requirement
WASHINGTON, DC – Two-thirds of adults believe it is important for elected officials to support funding and policies that ensure individuals get affordable sexual health care and information during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new poll released today by the National Family Planning & Reproductive Health Association (NFPRHA).
Belief in the importance of sexual health care services spans political parties, as a majority of Republicans and Democrats agree it is important that elected officials support both policy changes (Rep. 58%, Dem. 79%) and funding increases (Rep. 51%, Dem. 78%) related to affordable health care and information, specifically with regards to sexual health care, during the coronavirus pandemic. These results come as Congress continues to debate funding and assistance for various sectors and populations impacted by COVID-19.
The national poll, conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of NFPRHA, shows that a majority of adults (56%) believe advocating to ensure birth control is free, regardless of insurance status, is good for public health. To the contrary, only 5% of Independents, 6% of Democrats, and 12% of Republicans believe that free birth control is bad for public health.
The support for access to free birth control poll runs counter to yesterday’s US Supreme Court ruling that the Trump administration’s action, to make it easier for employers to object to providing contraceptive coverage to employees based on religious or moral exemption, is constitutional.
“NFPRHA’s new poll shows a bipartisan majority of US adults believe elected officials should support funding and policies related to sexual health care and that adults recognize free birth control is good for public health,” said Clare Coleman, President & CEO of NFPRHA. “These results show the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to unravel the nation’s 50-year old Title X family planning program are out of touch and misplaced. There’s no justification, ever, for partisan attacks on reproductive health care – and it’s even more absurd during the greatest public health crisis in a century.”
According to the poll, a majority of US adults (66%), think now is a bad time for individuals and couples to try to get pregnant, and only five percent of adults would consider it ‘less essential’ for individuals to have access to birth control during the coronavirus pandemic.
Yesterday’s Supreme Court decision means an untold number of employers could exempt themselves from the coverage requirement secured as part of the Affordable Care Act, leaving hundreds of thousands of workers in the dark when it comes to their family planning needs. Read NFPRHA’s reaction statement on the case.
Morning Consult conducted the national survey from April 30 - May 2, 2020, among a national sample of 2,200 US adults. The interviews were conducted online, and the data were weighted to approximate a target sample of US adults based on age, educational attainment, gender, race, and region. Results from the full survey have a margin of error of +/- 2%.
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NFPRHA is a membership organization representing publicly funded family planning providers and administrators nationwide. NFPRHA advances and elevates the importance of family planning in the nation’s health care system and promotes and supports the work of family planning providers and administrators, especially those in the safety net. For more information, visit nationalfamilyplanning.org.