In a recent national public opinion survey, a significantly higher proportion of American adults would choose to place frozen human embryos with infertile couples for the purpose of bearing a child. Interestingly, the survey also revealed that twice as many Americans read or heard about human embryos in connection with stem cell research than in connection with embryo donation or adoption.
Conducted in May and June 2009, the survey, “Public Opinion Regarding the Disposition of Frozen Human Embryos,” found that a significantly higher proportion of American adults (68.8 percent) prefer frozen human embryo placement with other families, but less than one out of five (19.5 percent) prefer donation of the embryos for research.
Although 88 percent surveyed had heard about human embryos in the past 6 months, less than half (37.1 percent) heard about them in connection with donation or adoption. More than twice as many Americans (82.2 percent) heard about human embryos in connection with stem cell research.
A January 2005 survey of respondents in six Southern California counties found that a majority (58.6 percent) expressed a personal preference for placing embryos with other families, while 31.4 percent favored donating embryos for research. The current 2009 survey results represent a 10 percent growth in preference for human embryo donation or adoption, over embryo donation for research purposes.
Other key findings of this survey include: