NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–A majority of likely voters believe the federal government should not fund embryonic stem cell research, according to a new Rasmussen Reports poll.
The survey of 1,000 likely voters found that 57 percent of voters believe the funding of such research should “be left to the private sector” while 33 percent believe “taxpayer money should be spent” on it.
The poll was conducted Aug. 25-26, days after a federal judge ruled the government’s funding of embryonic stem cell research violated current law. The judge’s decision did not impact the current funding of two other types of stem cell research that have shown great promise — adult stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell research, neither of which involves embryos.
Likely voters oppose federal funding of embryonic stem cell research despite the fact only 24 percent of them say such research is morally wrong. Fifty-four percent say it is not morally wrong, while 21 percent are not sure. Embryonic stem cell research requires the destruction of human embryos.
A majority of likely voters have followed the issue: 23 percent say they’ve followed it “very closely” and 48 percent “somewhat closely.”
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Compiled by Michael Foust, an assistant editor of Baptist Press
