{"id":23085,"date":"2024-06-26T09:53:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T13:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/?p=23085"},"modified":"2024-06-26T09:53:00","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T13:53:00","slug":"new-poll-finds-that-americans-are-split-on-morality-of-destroying-frozen-embryos-created-via-ivf","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2024\/06\/new-poll-finds-that-americans-are-split-on-morality-of-destroying-frozen-embryos-created-via-ivf","title":{"rendered":"New Poll Finds That Americans Are Split On Morality of Destroying Frozen Embryos Created Via IVF"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"IVF\"<\/a>
Shutterstock.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A new poll shows that while a majority of Americans support the practice of in-vitro fertilization, the public is split on the morality of destroying frozen embryos created in the process. Gallup recently released its annual Values and Beliefs poll, examining Americans\u2019 views on a wide variety of cultural and contentious issues. The survey, which sampled the opinions of 1,024 U.S. adults, was conducted between May 1-23 and had a margin of error of +\/-4 percentage points. The poll found that the overwhelming majority of respondents, 82 percent, believe that in-vitro fertilization is \u201cmorally acceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

An additional 10 percent viewed the procedure as \u201cmorally wrong,\u201d while the remaining eight percent had no opinion on the subject. Broken down by party affiliation, the belief that IVF is moral is strongest among Democrats (89 percent), followed by independents (84 percent) and Republicans (72 percent). There is also a correlation between non-attendance of religious services and support for IVF, with 91 percent of respondents who \u201cseldom or never attend\u201d church believing the practice is \u201cmorally acceptable\u201d compared to 77 percent of those who go to church \u201cnear-weekly or monthly\u201d and 63 percent of weekly churchgoers.<\/p>\n

As explained by the\u00a0Mayo Clinic<\/a>, in-vitro fertilization consists of a process where \u201cmature eggs are collected from ovaries and fertilized by sperm in a lab\u201d and \u201ca procedure is done to place one or more of the fertilized eggs, called embryos, in a uterus.\u201d While lauded by supporters as an effective treatment for infertility, critics contend that the procedure is dehumanizing. The Southern Baptist Convention recently adopted a\u00a0resolution<\/a>\u00a0declaring, \u201cIn Vitro Fertilization most often engages in the destruction of embryonic human life and increasingly engages in dehumanizing methods for determining suitability for life and genetic sorting, based on notions of genetic fitness and parental preferences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The resolution called on the SBC to \u201creaffirm the unconditional value and right to life of every human being, including those in an embryonic stage, and to only utilize reproductive technologies consistent with that affirmation.\u201d At the same time, it urged Christians to adopt frozen embryos created during the IVF process.\u00a0The resolution added, \u201cThe In Vitro Fertilization process routinely creates more embryos than can reasonably be implanted, thus resulting in the continued freezing, stockpiling and ultimate destruction of human embryos, some of which may also be subjected to medical experimentation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Southern Baptist Convention is not the only religious denomination that has expressed concerns about IVF. The\u00a0Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/a>\u00a0teaches that under IVF, \u201cthe act which brings the child into existence is no longer an act by which two persons give themselves to one another, but one that \u2018entrusts the life and identity of the embryo into the power of doctors and biologists and establishes the domination of technology over the origin and destiny of the human person.\u2019\u201d It describes the \u201crelationship of domination\u201d as \u201cin itself contrary to the dignity and equality that must be common to parents and children.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, the\u00a0Alabama Supreme Court<\/a>\u00a0ruled that embryos created during the IVF process are protected by state law. This prompted the state of Alabama to pass a\u00a0measure<\/a>\u00a0granting doctors immunity for destroying human embryos.\u00a0While a solid majority of Americans support IVF, the public is split on the morality of \u201cdestroying frozen human embryos created by in-vitro fertilization.\u201d According to Gallup, a plurality of respondents (49 percent) believe that the destruction of frozen embryos is \u201cmorally acceptable,\u201d while 43 percent think it is \u201cmorally wrong,\u201d and the remaining 8 percent have no opinion.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A new poll shows that while a majority of Americans support the practice of in-vitro fertilization, the public is split on the morality of destroying frozen embryos created in the process. Gallup recently released its annual Values and Beliefs poll, examining Americans\u2019 views on a wide variety of cultural and contentious issues. The survey, which…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":23091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2444,4,8,2512],"tags":[3960,3957],"class_list":["post-23085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-america","category-faith","category-news","category-science-and-religion","tag-ivf","tag-morality"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Poll Finds That Americans Are Split On Morality of Destroying Frozen Embryos Created Via IVF<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Gallup recently released its annual Values and Beliefs poll, examining Americans\u2019 views on a wide variety of cultural and contentious issues.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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