About seven in 10 voters, including a majority of Republicans, oppose shutting down the government over the recent dispute about funding for Planned Parenthood, according to a Quinnipiac poll released Monday.
Sixty-nine percent said they would oppose “shutting down the government over differences about federal government funding to Planned Parenthood,” compared to 23 percent who said they would support it, the poll said.
Fifty-six percent of Republicans said they were opposed, as did 83 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of independents.
More broadly, 41 percent said they support cutting off federal government funding to Planned Parenthood, compared to 52 percent who said they were opposed. Men favored a cutoff, 49 percent to 44 percent, while women opposed a cutoff, 60 percent to 34 percent.
Seventy-one percent of Republicans favored a funding cutoff, while 82 percent of Democrats and 56 percent of independents opposed one.
A plurality of voters — 44 percent to 39 percent — had a favorable opinion of Planned Parenthood.
“While voter support for Planned Parenthood is tepid, most American voters, especially women and Democrats, don’t want to cut off federal funding,” said Tim Malloy, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Poll.
“And voters say 3-1, ‘Don’t shut down the federal government over this issue.’ Most Republicans oppose a shutdown,” Mr. Malloy said.
The organization has come under fire recently for a series of undercover videos released by the pro-life group Center for Medical Progress that appear to show Planned Parenthood officials discussing fetal specimen preservation. Planned Parenthood has dismissed the videos as highly edited and misleading and said they don’t profit from fetal tissue sales.
Congress has to pass legislation this week to fund the government past Sept. 30, with some conservatives demanding that federal money for Planned Parenthood be stripped from the must-pass bill.
Last week, the Senate blocked a measure that would fund the government through Dec. 11 and redirect more than $200 million from Planned Parenthood to community health centers.
The survey of 1,574 registered voters was taken Sept. 17-21 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.
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