Americans overwhelmingly think that in-vitro fertilization should be legal, according to a new CBS News/YouGov poll.
Eighty-six percent of those surveyed said IVF should be legal for women trying to get pregnant, while 14 percent said it should be illegal. The poll, which was conducted from Feb. 28 to March 1, comes after an Alabama court ruling last month threatened to end the practice by ruling that frozen embryos should be considered people.
The ruling sparked immediate outrage on the left, and left Republicans scrambling to clarify their views on the practice — which, according to the National Infertility Association, one in six Americans turns to each year.
Dozens of Republican politicians have voiced open support of the practice, and some have shared their own experiences using IVF to have children. But few have addressed the underlying question of the Alabama decision — whether frozen embryos should be considered people under the law, and thus whether the procedure as it’s practiced today can continue, since not all embryos are used and there is risk of the accidental loss of embryos. The CBS poll released Sunday asked respondents “Do you think IVF, or in-vitro fertilization or women trying to get pregnant, should be [legal or not legal?].”
The poll surveyed 2,159 adults and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
Though some Republicans have said they support federal legislation legalizing IVF, it’s unclear what a bill would look like, and whether it would cover granting personhood rights to embryos.
During an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said federal protections for IVF would have his support, and could have “complete support,” from the Republican Party.
“This was the ruling of the court that I believe that the Alabama state legislators are probably going to fix, but as I reiterate: This is not the position of [the] Republican Party or the pro-life movement at all,” Mullin said of the Alabama decision.