WASHINGTON – Relatively few Americans fully endorse the idea that a fertilized egg should have the same rights as a pregnant woman. But a significant share say they describe their views at least somewhat well, according to a new survey from Associated Press-NORC Public Affairs Research Center.
The new research comes as questions grow around access to reproductive health, in the ongoing consequences of the decision by the Supreme Court to end federal abortion protections. The poll found that a solid majority of Americans oppose a federal abortion ban as a growing number support access to abortion for any reason.
But anti-abortion advocates are increasingly pushing to broader measures that would give rights and protections to embryos and fetuses, which could have huge implications for fertility treatments and other areas of health care.
The research suggests that when it comes to more nuanced questions about issues like in vitro fertilization or in vitro fertilization – which may be affected by the restrictive climate in some states, even if they have not previously been considered part of “abortion” – there is an opinion general support for the protection of reproductive health. But the poll also shows some uncertainty, as Americans face situations that would not have arisen before Roe v. Wade. Wade be nullified.
According to the poll, about 6 in 10 U.S. adults support protecting access to in vitro fertilization, a type of fertility treatment in which eggs are combined with sperm outside the body in a laboratory to form an embryo. . Opinions on banning the destruction of embryos created through in vitro fertilization are less developed, with 4 in 10 adults expressing a neutral opinion.
“I believe that it is a woman’s right to determine what she wants to do with her pregnancy and that she should be taken care of. There should be no doubt about that,” said John Evangelista, 73. “And IVF, I mean, for years, it saved a lot of people from suffering — because they wanted to have a child. Why would you want to limit that to people?
Earlier this year, Alabama’s largest hospital took a break in vitro fertilization treatments, following a court ruling that stated that frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of children. Not long after, the governor signed legislation that protects doctors from potential legal liability for restarting procedures in the state.
But the political damage was done. Democrats routinely cite in vitro fertilization concerns as part of a larger problem in which women in some states are receiving worse medical care since the fall of Roe. They link the delay in IVF treatment to cases in states with abortion restrictions, where women must wait until are too sick to receive care. Democrats say these issues show as the Republican Party strives to overthrow Roe profoundly affected every facet of reproductive care.
On the other hand, protections for IVF are supported by Americans across the political spectrum: About three-quarters of Democrats and 56% of Republicans favor preserving access to IVF, while about 4 in 10 independents are in favor and just under half, 46%, neither favor nor oppose access protection. For some, their opinions have been shaped by personal experience with the procedure.
“I’m about to go through IVF right now, and you’re trying to get as many embryos as possible to have a better chance of having a live birth, or more than that if you’re lucky,” said Alexa Voloscenko, 30. “Just I don’t want people to have any more problems accessing IVF; It’s already hard enough.”
But the survey found that about 3 in 10 Americans say the statement “human life begins at conception, so a fertilized egg is a person with the same rights as a pregnant woman” extremely or very well describes their views on abortion law and policy. while another 18% say it describes their views well. About half say the statement describes their views as “not very well” or “not at all well.”
This view is in tension with some aspects of IVF care – in particular, fertility treatments where eggs are fertilized and grow into embryos in a laboratory. Sometimes embryos are accidentally damaged or destroyed and unused embryos may be discarded.
Republicans are about twice as likely as Democrats or independents to say that the statement that fertilized eggs have the same rights as a pregnant woman describes their views very or very well. About 4 in 10 Republicans say this, compared with about 2 in 10 Democrats and independents.
And opinions are less clear overall on a more specific aspect of policy related to IVF – making it illegal to destroy embryos created during the process. A quarter of U.S. adults are somewhat or strongly in favor of banning the destruction of embryos created through in vitro fertilization, while 4 in 10 have a neutral opinion and about a third are somewhat or strongly opposed to her.
“Human life begins in the blink of an eye,” said Steven Otey, 73, a Republican who does not believe created embryos should be destroyed. “Embryos…can become babies, we shouldn’t destroy them.”
About 3 in 10 Republicans and about a quarter of Democrats favor banning the destruction of embryos created through in vitro fertilization. Four in 10 Republicans – and nearly 6 in 10 independents – have a neutral view.
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The survey of 1,088 adults was conducted June 20-24, 2024, using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.
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