Over 50% favour embryo research, says poll

The Irish public is unexpectedly liberal when it comes to bioethical issues such as embryo research, genetic screening and euthanasia, according to a new poll on these issues.

While 57 per cent of respondents in a TNS mrbi poll believe life begins at conception, more than a third held that scientists should be allowed to create embryos specifically for research use.

More than half of respondents said the Government should fund embryonic stem cell research, even though this research results in the embryo's destruction. And 54 per cent said they would use new treatments for disease developed using embryonic stem cell research.

The Irish Council for Bioethics commissioned the poll which took place this August. It involved face-to-face interviews with 500 subjects aged over 18 years, with participants controlled in sex, age, geographic area and socio-economic status.

"I was surprised, people were more liberal than we would have anticipated," said council scientific director Dr Siobhán O'Sullivan.

She added that council regularly receive strongly polarised views from advocates for and against various ethical issues. "What you see here is more people sitting in the middle."

The survey covered stem cell research, genetic screening for disease, euthanasia, prolonging the lives of severely premature babies and the aged and the holding of crime-related DNA samples among others.

The 57 per cent who held that life begins at conception greatly outnumbered the 19 per cent who agreed with the Government's stated preference that life begins when the fertilised ovum implants in the womb.

Forty-four per cent of respondents said surplus embryos left over after IVF treatment should be used in medical research. When this 44 per cent of respondents were told this would lead to embryo destruction, four out of five still agreed with their original position that research should be allowed.

There was a near even split - 42 versus 43 per cent - between those who agreed and disagreed that unborn children should be screened for genetic diseases with a view to deciding whether to continue a pregnancy. Yet 43 per cent agreed the law in Ireland should be changed to allow parents to select embryos during IVF on the basis of whether they have a genetic disease.

On prolonging life, 67 per cent believed expensive treatments should not be withdrawn from older people, even if success rates were low. Yet only 44 per cent said the lives of premature babies should be prolonged even if there was a risk of having a very poor quality of life.

On euthanasia, 40 per cent believed it should be legal here while a quarter said assisted suicide should be legalised.

The survey also showed a high tolerance for a crime-related DNA database, as advocated this week by the Law Reform Commission, and supported by the Minister for Justice. A full 87 per cent of respondents said those convicted of a serious crime should have their DNA profile retained on a Garda database indefinitely, and 75 per cent said those only suspected of rape or murder should also have their profiles held.

A surprising 37 per cent of respondents thought anyone even questioned by gardaí should have their DNA profiles stored on a forensic database.