2020 Survey Executive Summary

Methodology
On behalf of Planned Parenthood Association of Utah, Alliance for a Better Utah, and the ACLU of Utah,
Dan Jones and Associates conducted a phone survey regarding sex education, birth control, and abortion.
The target audience was the general population aged 18+ across the state of Utah. The survey was in field
from January 23rd through February 9th, 2020. Calls were administered to both landline and cell phone
numbers, split 58% to 42%. With a final sample size of 793, the margin of error was +/-3.48%. To ensure
adequate representation of the population of Utah, quotas were set by both county and age, proportional
to the latest population estimates from the US Census Bureau.

Sex Education
• 65% of Utahns support medically-accurate sex education curriculum in Utah schools, with 51%
favoring “Comprehensive sex education” and 14% favoring “Preventative sex education”.
• Support for medically accurate sex education is driven by Utah’s unaffiliated and Democratic voters (75% and
93%, respectively), with 43% of Republicans in support.
• By contrast, only 29% of Utahns support an abstinence-centered curriculum, with 21% favoring “Abstinence-
based or Abstinence-‘Plus’ sex education” and 8% favoring “Abstinence-only sex education”.

• An overwhelming majority of Utahns believe it is important to cover a wide variety of topics in sex
education curriculum.
• Including sexually transmitted diseases/infections (96%), HIV/AIDS (95%), healthy relationships (95%), consent
(91%) and birth control (91%).

Birth Control
• 80% of Utahns believe it is important to provide state funding for reproductive health services
including family planning and birth control for lower income individuals.
• 68% of Republicans and 96% of Democrats believe it is important to provide reproductive health services
funding for lower income individuals.

• A third (34%) of Utahns pay for their birth control entirely out-of-pocket.
• Even accounting for insurance coverage, a plurality of Utahns are paying for their birth control out-of-pocket.

• A majority of Utahns believe individuals under age 18 should have access to confidential health
services without parental involvement.
• 57% of Utahns indicate individuals ought to have access to services such as STD testing, birth control, or
pregnancy testing without parental involvement.
2020 Survey Executive Summary

Roe v. Wade and Abortion

• A majority (52%) of Utahns would vote to uphold Roe v Wade were it up for reconsideration.
• Support for Roe v. Wade is highest among Democrats (88%) and unaffiliated voters (61%). By contrast, only
26% of Republicans would vote to uphold Roe.

• Opposition to Roe v. Wade does not appear to be influenced by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-
Day Saints.
• Self-identified members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints would prefer to repeal (57%), though
even members of the Church approach the issue from party lines. Among LDS Republicans, 69% would vote to
repeal, while only 14% of LDS Democrats would vote to repeal.

• Without being informed about Utah’s current restrictions on abortion, 30% of Utahns indicate they
want Utah’s laws around abortion to be stricter, while 35% said they want the laws to be less strict.
The remaining 35% would prefer the laws remain the same.

• After being informed about Utah’s current restrictions on abortion (i.e. state-directed counseling,
72-hour waiting period, private and public insurance limitations), 80% of Utahns said the state does
not need additional restrictions on abortion.
• Of the 30% of Utahns who initially indicated they want stricter laws, about half (47%) changed their mind and
said they do not wish for additional restrictions after hearing the list of current restrictions in place.
• Among respondents who described themselves as “Conservative” and “Somewhat conservative,” 44% and
49%, respectively, changed their minds and declined to support additional restrictions after learning about the
current abortion restrictions in place in Utah.

• Utahns cite a wide variety of concerns if Roe v. Wade was repealed and abortion laws became
stricter in Utah.
• The number one concern is a potential rise in unsafe, self-induced abortions, with 25% of Utahns mentioning
that issue.
• Other common concerns are a negative life outcome for children of mothers who did not want to carry to term
(18%), increase in maternal mortality (16%), and more children ending up in state custody (15%).

• A two-thirds majority (65%) of Utahns oppose a law that would require health care providers to
read a message written by lawmakers, who lack medical training, before an abortion procedure.
• Opposition to this proposition is driven by Democrats and unaffiliated voters (88% and 73% oppose or strongly
oppose, respectively).
• Almost half of Republicans oppose the idea (49%).