Americans want the federal government to investigate whether Planned Parenthood illegally sold aborted baby body parts for profit, according to a new poll.
Earlier in December, news broke that the U.S. Department of Justice officially is investigating the abortion chain. The department requested materials from the U.S. Senate and House investigative committees that recommended a criminal investigation of Planned Parenthood after finding strong evidence that the abortion chain broke the law.
A new poll from Rasmussen found that American voters want the investigation to move forward. According to the poll, 46 percent of voters said the Department of Justice should investigate Planned Parenthood’s handling of aborted baby body parts, while 38 percent disagreed and 16 percent said they were not sure.
Interestingly, the poll also found that 60 percent of the voters it polled had a favorable opinion of the abortion chain. In contrast, 35 percent had an unfavorable opinion of Planned Parenthood, with 23 percent viewing it very unfavorably.
Perhaps one reason could be that Rasmussen polled more voters who support abortion. According to the poll, 53 percent identified as pro-choice on abortion, while 39 percent said they are pro-life.
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When it comes to the use of aborted baby body parts in research, Americans also are divided. According to the poll, 46 percent said they favored the use of tissue from aborted babies in research, while 32 percent opposed it and 22 percent did not know.
“Women are slightly more pro-choice than men but less supportive of the use of fetal tissue for research,” according to the poll. “Women also are more likely to be undecided about a federal investigation of Planned Parenthood, although they view that group more favorably than men do.”
Planned Parenthood repeatedly has denied all allegations of wrong-doing. However, polls like these indicate that it also is not the “trusted” provider that it often claims to be.
The federal investigation came about as a result of a series of undercover videos by the Center for Medical Progress that exposed the baby body parts trade inside the nation’s largest abortion provider.
Just a few days after news of the investigation broke, a California district attorney shut down two companies that worked with Planned Parenthood to sell baby parts. In an $8 million settlement agreement, the companies admitted liability for violating laws prohibiting the sales of human tissue.
The abortion chain Planned Parenthood receives approximately half a billion taxpayer dollars every year, while performing about 320,000 abortions annually.
