In an op-ed for The Christian Post, Michael J. New, visiting professor at Ave Maria University, argued that “most of its questions are worded to make the defunding of Planned Parenthood appear as unappealing as possible.”

A popular poll claiming to show that most Americans oppose defunding Planned Parenthood is flawed on multiple levels, according to a professor at a Florida-based Catholic university.

Last week, the Kaiser Family Foundation published findings from a survey that suggested 75 percent of Americans oppose removing federal Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood.

In an op-ed for The Christian Post, Michael J. New, visiting professor at Ave Maria University, argued that “most of its questions are worded to make the defunding of Planned Parenthood appear as unappealing as possible.”

“The poll also indicates that there was broad opposition to defunding Planned Parenthood, and it reported that majorities of Republican respondents favored continuing to fund the group through Medicaid,” wrote New.

“But the polling questions do not mention Planned Parenthood’s numerous legal and ethical troubles — specifically their mishandling of Medicaid funds.”

The question wording was:

“As you may know, the Medicaid program pays Planned Parenthood clinics for reproductive health and preventive care services provided to people on Medicaid, including birth control, STD testing and treatment, and cancer screenings. Federal Medicaid funds cannot be used to pay for abortions. Some lawmakers have proposed stopping all federal payments to Planned Parenthood, even for non-abortion services. Do you think that Medicaid should continue to pay Planned Parenthood for non-abortion services or should ALL federal payments to Planned Parenthood be stopped?”

New also took issue with how the Kaiser poll defined federal policy, noting that elsewhere in the survey it is stated that there exists a “ban on federal funds paying for abortion.”

“This is wrong for multiple reasons. First, the Hyde Amendment only places a limit on federal Medicaid — it does not apply to all federal monies,” continued New.

“Secondly, the Hyde Amendment contains some exceptions. Federal Medicaid dollars still pay for abortions in cases of rape and incest. Finally, money is fungible, and the millions of federal dollars that flow to Planned Parenthood annually still indirectly subsidize abortion.”

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