Washington, DC – From May 6-9, the Gallup polling company took an in-depth poll on the issue of human cloning. The poll found both human cloning and embryonic stem cell research are opposed by most Americans.
The U.S. Senate is currently grappling with a number of bills dealing with the legality of human cloning. The issue of sharpest debate in the halls of Congress is whether all forms of human cloning should be illegal — including cloning done to harvest stem cells from human embryos – or whether only cloning for reproductive purposes should be banned. A recent Gallup poll found that most Americans oppose both types of cloning.
Overall, the May 6-9 survey suggests that the word cloning sets off alarms for Americans, particularly when it is associated with creating human beings or embryos. A slim majority supports cloning adult stem cells for use in medical research — a procedure that President Bush and pro-life advocates support. Adult stem cell research is hailed by a number of scientists who believe it can provide an ethical and effective alternative to research that involves the destruction of human life.
The clearest opposition to cloning is seen in reference to cloning for the purposes of giving birth to a human. According to Gallup's May 6-9 survey on values and moral issues, only 8% of the public supports this while 90% is opposed. However, a large majority (61%) of Americans is also opposed to “cloning of human embryos for use in medical research.”
Despite President Bush's strong anti-cloning position, the Gallup poll shows no partisan differences within the public in its reaction to cloning human embryos for research. Roughly 60% of Republicans, Democrats and independents nationwide say they oppose it. Larger differences are seen by gender, with only 29% of women supporting human cloning compared to 40% of men. But one's religious view is the more significant factor in attitudes toward embryonic cloning, with regular churchgoers showing more opposition than those who attend less frequently.
These religious differences are reflected in regional differences, where the people from the more religious South and Midwest are more widely opposed to using cloned embryos for research than are those living in the East and West.
East
Favor 37%
Oppose 58%
Midwest
Favor 32%
Oppose 61%
South
Favor 27%
Oppose 68%
West
Favor 42%
Oppose 54%
There is also a strong correlation between attitudes toward abortion and cloning, with 50% of self-defined “pro-choice” Americans favoring the cloning of human embryos and three-quarters of self-defined “pro-life” Americans opposing it.
“Pro-Choice”
Favor 50%
Oppose 45%
“Pro-Life
Favor 20%
Oppose 77%
It is not just human cloning that concerns Americans. Cloning animals for use as pets receives about as little support as cloning done to give birth to a human being. A majority also opposes the cloning of endangered species to keep them from becoming extinct, but by a relatively narrow margin.
• Cloning of endangered species to keep them from becoming extinct 38% Favor / 58% Oppose
• Cloning of human embryos for use in medical research 34% Favor / 61% Oppose
• Cloning of dogs, cats, or other animals that people keep as pets 15% Favor / 82% Oppose
• Cloning that is designed specifically to result in the birth of a human being 8% Favor / 90% Oppose
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,012 adults, aged 18 and older, conducted May 6-9, 2002.
To view the Gallup Poll results in their entirety, click here.
(This article courtesy of Steven Ertelt and the Pro-Life Infonet email newsletter. For more information or to subscribe go to www.prolifeinfo.org or email infonet@prolifeinfo.org.)
