South Carolina voters indicate that a candidate’s platform on teen pregnancy prevention and family rights and privacy will influence their decisions in upcoming elections.
A recent survey measured how South Carolinians view important life decisions such as comprehensive sex education, birth control access, and other family health issues.
The survey found that:
* 80 percent rank addressing South Carolina’s teen pregnancy rate as very important or critical
* 89 percent support teaching both abstinence and pregnancy prevention to teens
* 90 percent agree that all women should have access to birth control
* 92 percent strongly respect a family’s right to privacy in family planning choices
* 79 percent say that a candidate’s position on protection, planning, and prevention strongly influences their vote
“For months, we’ve been pointing out that mainstream South Carolinians, regardless of their political affiliation, value both personal responsibility and social responsibility. They believe access to information is essential for healthy families. And they believe families should have the right to make intensely personal, private choices without government intrusion. This survey bears us out. Fifty percent of our respondents characterized themselves as conservatives or independents, seventy-eight percent as faith-influenced,” says George Johnson, President of the South Carolina Reproductive Health PAC.
The survey was distributed to more than 20,000 South Carolina female registered voters. These voters were selected as “independents” based on having voted in the past two national general elections but not the corresponding primary of either party. Of the recipients, 825 successfully completed the survey. This took place during the summer of 2007.
South Carolina Reproductive Health PAC is a non-partisan state political action committee, formed by citizens to promote healthy families. They provide campaign funding and other assistance to South Carolina candidates who support comprehensive, medically sound family planning policy.