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Eighty-two per cent (up 12% from 70% in November 2001) of Australians 14 and over approve the extraction of stem cells from human embryos so they can be used in the treatment of diseases and injuries, such as heart disease and Alzheimers, 13% disapprove and 5% can’t say, a special Roy Morgan telephone survey finds.

In another endorsement of medical and technological advancement, 80% of Australians favour embryonic stem cell research in the knowledge that scientists can now make embryonic stem cells for medical research by merging an unfertilised egg with a skin cell, in which case no fertilisation and no merger of the egg and sperm takes place. Eleven per cent oppose this type of embryonic stem cell research, while 9% are undecided.

Almost nine-out-of-ten Australians approve of the IVF programme for helping couples who can’t have children. Now 88% (up 2% from November 2001 and up 19% from 69% in July 1982) of Australians aged 14 and over approve, 7% disapprove, while 5% can’t say.

Now 80% (up 10% from 70% in November 2001) say that couples with excess embryos after infertility treatment or IVF should be able to choose to donate these embryos for research, rather than discard them, 12% say couples should not be offered the choice, while 8% can’t say.

Gary Morgan says:

“With such a large majority of Australians approving the extraction of stem cells from human embryos to treat injury and disease, Members of Parliament should not try to stop such valuable medical advancements with never-ending pages of legislation.”

This special telephone Morgan Poll was conducted on the evenings of June 14/15, 2006, with an Australia-wide cross-section of 678 respondents aged 14 and over.

1. Approval of IVF
Respondents were asked: “Thinking now about the test-tube baby method or IVF programme for helping married couples who can’t have children. Do you approve or disapprove of this method for helping couples who can’t have children?”

The June 2006 result (88%) is the highest approval rating of the IVF programme since the question was first asked in July 1981.

	Jul	Feb	Jul	Apr	Feb	Feb	Mar	Feb	Mar	Aug	Jan	Oct	Jun	Nov	Jun
	'81	'82	82	83	'84	'86	'87	'88	'89	'93	'97	2000	2001	2001	2006
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Approve	77	69	69	74	72	73	76	77	73	79	81	85	86	86	88
Disapprove	11	11	13	13	17	13	13	13	20	14	12	9	9	10	7
Undecided	12	20	18	13	11	14	11	10	7	7	7	6	5	4	5
	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

Women (91%) are marginally more likely to approve of the IVF programme than men (86%). Australians aged 50 and over (83%) are the least likely of any age group to approve, while those aged 18-24 (95%) are the most likely.

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Sex and Age
	June 14/15, 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Approve	88	86	91	85	95	93	91	83
Disapprove	7	9	4	11	3	5	5	9
Undecided	5	5	5	4	2	2	4	8
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

2. Excess Embryos
Respondents were then asked: “Should couples with excess embryos after infertility treatment or IVF be able to choose to donate these embryos for research rather than discard them?”

Women (82%) are more likely than men (77%) to say that couples should be able to choose whether to donate excess embryos. Australians aged 50 and over (72%) are the least likely of any age group to say couples hould be offered a choice, while those aged 18-24 (89%) are the most likely.

	Total All People 14+			Analysis by Sex and Age
	Jun 2001	Nov 2001	Jun 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Yes	69	70	80	77	82	87	89	84	82	72
No	22	19	12	15	10	5	8	11	12	15
Undecided	9	11	8	8	8	8	3	5	6	13
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

3. Stem Cell Research
Respondents were then told: “A very important new avenue for research using human embryos involves taking cells called stem cells from the inside of a five day old embryo. The embryo is no longer capable of further development. Scientists are working on techniques to turn stem cells extracted from an embryo into any type of cells in the body such as nerve cells and muscle cells to treat diseases such as heart disease, Alzheimers, cancer, spinal injuries and many more. Put simply, stem cells can be extracted from human embryos to be used in the treatment of many diseases and injuries.”

They were then asked: “Do you approve or disapprove?”

Those aged 14-17 and 25-34 (both 86%) are the most likely to approve of the extraction of stem cells from human embryos to treat injuries and disease.

	Total All People 14+			Analysis by Sex and Age
	Jun 2001	Nov 2001	Jun 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Approve	72	70	82	82	83	86	84	86	83	79
Disapprove	19	19	13	13	13	10	8	10	12	17
Undecided	9	11	5	5	4	4	8	4	5	4
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

4. Embryonic Stem Cells
Respondents were then told: “Scientists can now make embryonic stem cells for medical research by merging an unfertlised egg with a skin cell. In this case, no fertilisation takes place and there is no merger of the egg and sperm.”

They were then asked: “Knowing this, do you favour or oppose embryonic stem cell research?”

Those aged 25-34 and 35-49 (both 86%) are the most likely to favour embryonic stem cell research by merging an unfertilised egg with a skin cell while those aged 14-17 (67%) are the least likely.

	Total All People 14+	Analysis by Sex and Age
	June 14-15, 2006	Men	Women	14-17#	18-24	25-34	35-49	50+
	%	%	%	%	%	%	%	%
Favour	80	80	81	67	75	86	86	78
Oppose	11	11	10	9	13	9	8	13
Undecided	9	9	9	24	12	5	6	9
Total	100	100	100	100	100	100	100	100

# Sample sizes less than 50 should be treated with caution

The above tables show Australians’ attitudes towards Stem Cell research, analysed by Sex and Age. The complete analysis of results by demographics and regions is available on subscription.

For further information:

Gary Morgan	Office +61 3 9224 5213	Mobile +61 411 129 094	Home +61 3 9419 3242
Michele Levine	Office +61 3 9224 5215	Mobile +61 411 129 093	Home +61 3 9817 3066

The Morgan Poll is conducted by the ONLY Australian and New Zealand member of
the Gallup International Association.

No Other public opinion poll taken in Australia has this qualification.

© 2007 Roy Morgan Research. All Rights Reserved
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