New Poll: American People Oppose All Human Cloning, Support President Bush’s Call for a Comprehensive Ban
April 22, 2002
WASHINGTON, D.C.–Stop Human Cloning, a grassroots advocacy organization, today released the results of its national survey of 800 adults, conducted April 13-15, 2002.
The survey found overwhelming support (63 percent) for President Bush’s opposition to both “reproductive” cloning and cloning that creates human embryos to obtain stem cells for medical research. Women were much more likely to agree with the President’s position (68 percent compared to 58 percent for men), as were middle income households ($30K to $49K, 71 percent), those living in the South Central region of the country (71 percent), 25-34 year olds (69 percent), and Americans with children under 18 (66 percent).
In a question designed to mirror statements made on April 10th by Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (Person 1) and by President Bush (Person 2), without identifying the speakers, the survey found a significant majority (59 percent), including typically center-left cohorts of the population, agreed with Person 2, while only 26 percent agreed with the statement modeled after Senator Daschle’s remarks.
William Kristol, Chairman of Stop Human Cloning, said “the survey presented the arguments on each side of the cloning issue fairly. We’re very pleased that the American people, like President Bush, oppose all human cloning. This is an issue they are willing to vote on in November.”
The survey asked people whether they would be more or less likely to vote for a candidate for office if he or she supported making legal the cloning of human embryos for medical experimentation. It found that Americans are three times less likely to vote for a candidate that supported the cloning of human embryos for medical research (60 percent “less likely” versus 21 percent “more likely”). African-Americans (72 percent), women (68 percent), those over 55 (65 percent) have a lower likelihood of voting for candidates that support human cloning for medical experiments.
For more information, call Mary Cannon at 703-981-7605 or 202-661-4786.