3 Things That Turn the Tide Against Planned Parenthood

Just last week, a polling firm announced that it had discovered the three things that turn the average American “negative” on Planned Parenthood (PP).  The firm also found that one-in-five Americans would like to see the undercover PP videos released by the Center for Medical Progress (CMP) but have not.

CMP hired the polling company, a Republican polling firm led by Kellyanne Conway, to survey 1,009 adults from December 3-6.

The best strategy to discredit PP could be summed up in one step: Tell the truth. 

“When we communicate three basic truths about Planned Parenthood,” Conway reported in a memo furnished to LifeSiteNews, “support for the organization and their taxpayer funding tumbles.”  Conway went on to say, “After answering a series of questions on the baby body parts expose and hearing that Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, receives a half billion dollars from the government each year, spends millions of dollars in partisan political activities and was recently exposed on video as bartering the cost of baby body parts and fetal tissue, a 54 percent-majority say they are ‘mostly negative’ toward Planned Parenthood.”

The undercover footage of PP officials discussing fetal organ trafficking opened a public relations nightmare for PP … forcing Hillary Clinton to call the topic “disturbing,” and spurred multiple Congressional investigations – something strongly supported by respondents across the political spectrum.

More than two-thirds (68%) of Americans supported continuing to investigate the videos’ allegations: 76% self-identified Republicans; 72% independents; and a surprisingly high 64% of Democrats.  “This marks rare tri-partisan agreement in Washington,” Conway wrote.

Conway expects the issue to continue to dominate headlines, as the House Select Investigative Panel on Infant Lives holds public hearings delving into the grisly allegations. The six Democrats, appointed by Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, are expected to push back against CMP itself – mindful they have received more than $305,000 in campaign donations from PP.

Despite the gravity of the allegations, just over one-in-four Americans (28%) say they have seen CMP’s covert PP video footage.  A plurality of those who have not viewed the CMP series say they are not interested in abortion, and one-third of women say they are “afraid” to watch.  Only 10% dismiss the footage as inauthentic.

After Americans heard the three targeted messages about PP, 56% support eliminating (19%), or reducing (19%) federal taxpayer funding of PP, or suspending all funding until the investigations are over (27%).

The finding complements a second poll released on December 2 by the Robert Morris University Polling Institute, which found that a majority of Americans support the Republican Congressional proposal to defund Planned Parenthood.

In all, 53.3% said taxpayer money should be redirected to community health centers that do not perform abortions, while only 31.5% object.  Democrats split almost evenly, with 42.7% supporting the idea.

Both conflict with a new USA Today/Suffold University poll that asked simply, “Should federal funding for Planned Parenthood be eliminated?”

Conway said if Republicans hope to win the battle over providing the nation’s largest abortion provider with more than $500-million a year, they must repeat the targeted, three-part message that resonated with those who took her poll.  “Attempts to expose more Americans to these horrific practices should be redoubled,” she wrote, “while preparing to defend the predictable and specious attacks and deflections by this well-funded industry suffering its worst PR crisis in years.”

To the chagrin of today’s pro-abortion liberals, today’s generation is leaning pro-life.  New technology has given us glimpses of the womb that prove life is sacred from conception. Testimonies from post-abortive women prove that the life ending procedure harms both mother and child.  As for those who have rejected abortion, their messages often end in the belief that every life is a gift from God and every child has a purpose.

If all polls were accurate and unbiased, I wonder what the nation as a whole would look like in regards to the pro-life movement.

Rev. Dr. Kenneth L. Beale, Jr.

Chaplain (Colonel-Ret), U.S. Army

Pastor, Ft. Snelling Memorial Chapel