Most Americans say they oppose considering frozen embryos as people and do not support holding those who destroy the genetic material legally responsible, according to a new survey.
The Axios/Ipsos poll, released Wednesday, shows two-thirds of respondents (66 percent) said they oppose the position — including 45 percent who said they strongly oppose and 21 percent who somewhat oppose.
Yet, fewer than half (45 percent) of the respondents said they were familiar with the Alabama Supreme Court ruling itself, which has sparked a national outcry among those who worry about the potential consequences such a ruling could have on access to in vitro fertilization (IVF) and other reproductive rights.
The decision, handed down earlier this month, ruled that frozen embryos and fertilized eggs are children under state law and subject to legislation dealing with the wrongful death of a minor, stating that it “applies to all unborn children, regardless of their location.”
When broken down by party, there is a significant partisan split in respondents’ familiarity and, to a lesser extent, their position on the ruling.
While 65 percent of Democrats said they were familiar with the Alabama ruling, only 42 percent of independents and 34 percent of Republicans said the same.
Asked about the conclusion itself — without mentioning the court specifically — 82 percent of Democrats said they oppose, along with 67 percent of Independents and 49 percent of Republicans.
The ruling could have implications going into the 2024 election cycle, as some Republicans are wary not to support positions seen as too extreme in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022 — which ended the federal right to an abortion.
Democrats have been quick to seize on the issue, with some in the Senate now trying to force a vote on a bill to protect access to IVF.
Former President Trump, who is the GOP front-runner in the presidential primary race, has also distanced himself from the Alabama decision, calling on the state to protect IVF after the ruling was handed down.
His primary opponent, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, clarified her position last week that while she believes embryos “are babies,” she didn’t necessarily agree with the Alabama ruling.
The Axios/Ipsos poll was conducted from Feb. 23-25, 2024, one week after the Alabama Supreme Court came to the above conclusion, among 1,020 Americans and had a total margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
