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Image of IVF lab equipment

Image by Dr. Jayesh Amin from Wikimedia Commons licensed under CC by-SA 3.0

Most adults support protecting access to in vitro fertilization, or IVF, a type of fertility treatment where eggs are combined with sperm outside the body in a lab to form an embryo. But the public is more divided regarding the fate of unused embryos produced during IVF and many lack firm opinions about this aspect of the process. A quarter of adults favor making it illegal to destroy embryos created during the process of IVF, about a third oppose such a law, while 4 in 10 neither favor nor oppose.

Few adults strongly support the idea that human life begins at conception.  About a quarter of the public say the concept that a fertilized egg is a person with the same rights as a pregnant woman describes their views extremely or very well and another 18% say somewhat well. About half say that doesn’t describe their opinion well. 

About 6 in 10 adults favor protecting access to IVF, including 77% of Democrats and 56% of Republicans. Nearly...