TO:

Interested Parties

FROM:

Geoffrey Garin

DATE:

June 18, 2019

RE:

Why Democrats Should Lean Into the Title X Gag Rule Fight

Recent national surveys have shown that large majorities of voters oppose the extreme abortion
bans that several Republican state legislatures have enacted, and polls have documented a
significant backlash against these laws in the form of increasing numbers of voters expressing
support for legal abortion.
Republican policies as well as the attitudes of Republican politicians regarding women’s access
to reproductive healthcare have exacerbated the GOP’s deep problems with women voters. In
a survey we recently conducted in eight 2020 Senate battleground states, voters say by a margin
of 54% to 30% that they trust the Democratic Party more than the Republican Party on women’s
rights and equality for women. Among women voters themselves, the Democratic Party is more
trusted on women’s rights and equality by 59% to 28%. Women under the age of 40 trust
Democrats more, by 72% to 16%.
Given these results, there is a clear benefit to shining as much of a spotlight as possible on
Republican policies that impose more restrictions and burdens on women.
The inclination of women to trust Democrats more than Republicans certainly is evident with
regard to the issue of healthcare, and recent polls indicate it also applies specifically to the issue
of abortion. A recent national Marist poll conducted for NPR and the PBS Newshour asked
voters: “Do you think the Democratic Party or the Republican Party would do a better job of
dealing with the issue of abortion?” Voters overall say they trust the Democratic Party more, by
46% to 37%. Among women voters, only 29% say they trust the Republican Party more,
compared to 50% for the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party has the advantage among
independent women by 47% to 26%.
Democrats have the opportunity to bring these advantages to bear and put Republicans in the
Senate and the House on the defensive by strongly opposing the Trump Administration’s Title X
gag rule and standing firm on the issue during the appropriations process. Polls show that two
central aspects of the rule cause a large majority of voters to reject it:


It imposes new gag rule on doctors and other medical providers that will prevent
them from helping their patients get the care that is right for them, while allowing
federal family funding to go to providers that refuse to fully inform women of their
medical options.



It will, by design, make it harder for low-income women to find quality, affordable
options for screenings and other basic healthcare, including Planned Parenthood.

A recent poll conducted by GBA Strategies finds that 58% oppose the Title X rule change that
would “prohibit providers receiving Title X federal funding, which is intended to provide low-

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income women with reproductive healthcare, from also offering women referrals for abortion.”
Only 36% support this rule change, and voters with strong feelings on the matter oppose the
ban on referrals (i.e., the gag rule) by better than two to one (43% strongly oppose, 18%
strongly favor). Democratic voters oppose the gag rule by a 42-point margin, but the issue
divides Republicans (47% favor, 45% oppose), even though the question specifically references
President Trump. Independent women oppose the rule by 59% to 34%.
It also is worth noting that the GBA Strategy poll finds that fully 73% of voters say it would be a
bad outcome if the Trump Title X gag rule means that doctors won’t be able to give their
patients all the medical information available, including 62% who say it would be a very bad
outcome.
This finding is consistent with what non-partisan polls have found in related contexts. National
polling by the Kaiser Family Foundation, for example, shows that 63% of Americans say there
should be continued Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood’s non-abortion services,
notwithstanding the fact that Planned Parenthood provides abortions and refers women for
abortions.
Kaiser Family Foundation polling also shows that 62% of Americans oppose providing federal
funding for providers that do not counsel pregnant women about all of their choices, including
prenatal care, adoption, and abortion—a key element of the Trump Administration’s Title X gag
rule.
The other key vulnerability for the Trump Title X gag rule, and for GOP elected officials who
support it, is the negative impact the rule will have on women’s access to affordable, quality
basic healthcare services, including their ability to get preventive care at Planned Parenthood
clinics.
 In our polling last year, 75% nationally voiced disapproval of efforts by the Trump
Administration to block access to care at Planned Parenthood, because it would leave
many women with nowhere else to go for care, including 54% who strongly disapprove.
 With regard to Title X, 79% say it would be a bad outcome if the rule means many
women will find healthcare more expensive and harder to get, including 64% who say it
would be a very bad outcome.
 Similarly, 76% say it would be a bad outcome if the Trump Administration’s Title X gag
rule means that many low-income women will lose access to basic healthcare like birth
control, testing for STDs, and cancer screenings.
The Republican Party is increasingly identifying itself with the idea that politicians have the right
to control when, how, and why woman get their healthcare—an idea that is offensive to many
women and out of step with the views of most voters. The events of the past two years also
have led voters to see the Republicans as being too willing to take affordable healthcare away
from people. A fight over the Trump Administration’s Title X gag rule and its consequences for
women’s healthcare offers an opportunity to bring these vulnerabilities to the fore, and will
put many Republican senators and House members to the test on where they stand on the
extreme positions of their party and President Trump.

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