The Kaiser Family Foundation recently released results from a new poll examining the public’s view on women’s issues. Survey participants included adult-aged men and women, with a particular focus on viewpoints from women younger than 45 years. Data were collected beginning 2 weeks prior to Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement announcement. Below are the top 4 findings from the poll:
The majority of respondents think the Supreme Court should keep Roe v Wade in place.
Two-thirds of those polled do not want the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v Wade. Women age 18 to 44 years especially favored Roe v Wade staying in place (74% of those polled). Republicans were the only group that indicated a slight majority toward wanting to see Roe v Wade overturned (53%).
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A candidate’s position on women’s issues matters.
Most voters indicated that they would back a candidate who supports stronger workplace protections against sexual harassment and a law for employers to provide paid parental leave. Only one-fourth of voters said a candidate’s view on access to abortion services would make no difference on who they would vote for, while 29% of those polled say they are less likely to vote for a candidate who supports access to abortion services. Conversely, just under half of the public say they are more likely to vote for that same candidate (42%).
The public wants candidates to talk more about equal pay.
More than 50% (56%) of voters said that women’s issues are a very important topic for 2018 candidates to discuss. In particular, equal pay and fair employment practices were the issue those voters cared most about.
Many disagree with the new Title X funding rule.
The White House has proposed changes to Title X, which helps pay for family planning funding, including reproductive health care and contraception. The proposed change would withhold funding to programs like Planned Parenthood, which offers a wide variety of preventive health services including emergency contraception and sexually transmitted infection testing, for low-income women. A number of women polled (39%) indicated they have visited a Planned Parenthood clinic for health services in the past. More than half of those polled oppose the proposed rule (57%).
Reference
Kirzinger A, Hamel L, Wu B, Muñana C, Brodie M. Further findings from Kaiser’s June health tracking poll: women’s issues. Kaiser Family Foundation. June 29, 2018. https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/poll-finding/further-findings-from-kaisers-june-health-tracking-poll-womens-issues/. Accessed July 18, 2018.
