TRENTON, NJ — As Governor-elect Phil Murphy prepares to be sworn in as our state’s next leader in just a few weeks, New Jerseyans are excited to once again have a champion for women’s health in the State House. This week, a new poll released by the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling showed that 75 percent of New Jerseyans support the restoration of family planning funding – a key campaign promise of Murphy’s. The poll also highlights the bipartisan support of reproductive health care, with 57 percent of Republicans also supporting the funding.

“With yet another poll showing broad support for reproductive health care services in New Jersey, we know that now is the time to restore funding for these lifesaving, preventive services,” said Christine Sadovy, Legislative and Political Director for Planned Parenthood Action Fund of New Jersey. “We look forward to Governor-elect Murphy taking swift action restore this funding.”

This latest poll confirms what we have already known: reproductive health is a key issue for New Jerseyans. Earlier this year, another poll released by Eagleton and the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute showed that 78 percent of New Jersey voters support state funding for family planning services. That same poll showed overall support for reproductive health care access, including support for policies in question at the federal level as the Trump administration continually takes aim at women’s health care. Such policies include Medicaid reimbursements for reproductive health and preventive care services at Planned Parenthood (84 percent support), coverage for preventive health care services like breast and cervical cancer screenings with no out-of-pocket costs to the individual (95 percent support), and requirements that insurance plans cover birth control services (75 percent support).

These issues played an important role in the election of Governor-elect Murphy. From the very start of his campaign, Murphy made it crystal clear that he stands with Planned Parenthood. He took every opportunity to discuss his commitment to women’s health. Not only did he publicly state that restoring Planned Parenthood funding was at the top of his priority list the very next day after he won the primary election, he also pledged to work to fill the gap left by eight consecutive years of lost funding.

The funding, which was a longstanding line item in the state budget until Governor Christie eliminated it in 2010, went towards preventive services such as breast and cervical cancer screenings, birth control, and testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections. In the eight years since the funding was cut, bacterial STDs have risen 35 percent statewide; in 11 out of New Jersey’s 21 counties, the increase has been nearly 50 percent or more. Breast and cervical cancer is also on the rise, with a disproportionate impact on communities of color: a 0.3 percent increase among white women, a 6.6 increase among Black women, and an alarming 25.1 increase among Latinas.