62 percent in new survey support access to IVF

Sixty-two percent of Americans support protecting access to in vitro fertilization (IVF), a new survey finds.

The search, conducted by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, found that Democrats were more likely to support the procedure, with 77% in favor of protecting IVF. More than half of Republicans, 56%, said the same. Forty-one percent of independents support access to IVF.

While most Americans support giving others access to the medical procedure, opinions about what happens to embryos after the procedure have been less developed.

The survey found that most Americans do not have strong opinions about laws prohibiting the destruction of embryos created through in vitro fertilization.

A third of all respondents strongly oppose laws prohibiting the destruction of embryos. Twenty-five percent support laws prohibiting their destruction and 40 percent say they neither support nor oppose such laws.

Democrats were much more likely to say they don’t believe life begins at conception. Seventy percent of Democrats disagree that life begins at conception, while 33% of Republicans say the same. Forty-one percent of Republican respondents believe life begins at conception.

The research follows a February ruling by the Alabama Supreme Court that forced the temporary suspension of many IVF treatments in the state. The ruling said frozen embryos are the legal equivalent of a child. Alabama’s governor signed a law protecting doctors from legal liability for conducting the procedure.

The conversation about IVF and reproductive rights has continued to be part of the broader political rhetoric tied to the 2024 elections, the second election and first presidential race since Roe v. Wade.

The survey was carried out from June 20 to 24 among 1,088 adults and has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story