Most Americans see abortion as a moral issue, but few are troubled by human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research

Most Americans see abortion as a moral issue, but few are troubled by human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research, a survey by the Pew Research Centre has revealed. According to the study, carried out in April and May of this year, only about a quarter of Americans believe that “abortion is not a moral issue”. Half of US adults (49%) consider abortion to be morally wrong. This is in contrast to the mere 22% who consider hESC research morally wrong. 36% of participants said that this hESC research was not a moral issue, whilst 32% said it was morally acceptable.

Over 4000 US adults participated in the survey, and there were representatives from all US states.  Importantly, the survey included questions about religious affiliation. According to the study, the most morally conservative religious group was white evangelical Protestants – 78% of whom believed abortion was morally wrong. Amongst Catholics, 58% said that abortion was wrong, but only 24% said that hESC research was morally wrong. 

Xavier Symons
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Michael Cook

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