A new survey, conducted by MORI on behalf of a coalition of British public and charitable organisations with a common interest in stem cell research, shows that about 70 per cent of the British public support human embryo research to find treatments for serious illnesses or infertility.
MORI interviewed 2001 respondents aged 15 or above. Of these, 1044 people were asked, with no information provided other than that embryo research is currently legal up to 14 days after conception, what their view was about the use of human embryos in medical research. Fifteen per cent said that it was acceptable to use embryos in any type of medical research and 55 per cent said embryos should only be used in research to 'find treatments for serious diseases and for fertility research, but not for most other types of research'.
When participants were also informed that embryos are sometimes donated for medical research by people having undergone fertility treatments and were shown pictures of what a 14 day-old embryo looked like, the percentages increased to 17 and 56 per cent respectively. Twenty percent of those who were not given the extra information, and 17 per cent of those who did, said that the use of human embryos in medical research is 'never acceptable'.
The Parkinson's Disease Society issued a press release on behalf of the group of organisations. It said that the survey results 'will be encouraging for the many scientists and researchers who believe that both adult and embryonic stem cell research should be taken forward at the same time until it has become clear which route is most helpful for particular conditions'. Sir George Radda, chief executive of the Medical Research Council, said the results were encouraging, adding 'the results of this poll show the British public has a good grasp of the importance of ethical medical research... We need to keep them engaged in this debate; their voice is important'.
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Seven in ten members of the public support the use of embryos for medical research
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Public backs human embryo research
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Seven in ten members of the public support the use of embryos for medical research
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