Two-thirds of Americans oppose considering frozen embryos as people, with the issue rapidly resonating with Democrats already charged up by election-year messaging on reproductive rights, a new Axios-Ipsos poll finds.
Why it matters: The findings suggest the Alabama Republican Supreme Court decision on in vitro fertilization goes well beyond where public sentiment is in the post-Roe world.
Driving the news: 66% of the public oppose designating IVF embryos as children and holding those who destroy them legally responsible, while 31% support it.
>Republicans are divided on the question, with 49% supporting and 49% opposing.
>The majority of the country (54%) still isn't familiar with the ruling. But within a week of the decision, 65% of Democrats were, compared with 35% of Republicans.
It's telling how quickly the information about the Alabama ruling spread, particularly on the Democratic side, said Ipsos vice president Mallory Newall.
>"Democrats are tuned in in a big way," Newall said.
>And while the Alabama ruling doesn't outlaw IVF, its effects have left a significant portion of the population viewing it as a restriction that's "out of step with where the public is at," Newall said.
Context: The ruling has supercharged the election-year reproductive health debate and left abortion foes struggling to respond to the blowback.
>It's also clouded the legal landscape around IVF by raising liability risks that could drive up the costs and curtail the availability of services.
>Senate Democrats on Wednesday are expected to try to force a vote on federal protections for IVF and other fertility treatments that would shield clinics and pre-empt any state restrictions.
https://www.axios.com/2024/02/28/alabama-ivf-ruling-poll-ipsos