Second BBVA Foundation International Study on Biotechnology. Attitudes to Stem Cell Research and Hybrid Embryos. May, 2008

Transcription

1 Second BBVA Foundation International Study on Biotechnology Attitudes to Stem Cell Research and Hybrid Embryos May, 2008

2 A general population survey on Biotechnology 15 countries in three continents: Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Denmark, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, United Kingdom, Sweden, Israel, Japan, United States 1500 interviews per country (approx. 22,500 interviews in all) The BBVA Foundation conducted the first edition of this study in 2003

3 ANALYSIS AREAS General attitudes towards research with embryonic stem cells and hybrid embryos Awareness and understanding Perception of medical benefits Fears and reservations Acceptance of the use of embryos to obtain stem cells depending on their origin: spare embryos vs. created embryos View of the moral condition of the embryo and acceptance of stem cell research Creation of hybrid embryos to obtain stem cells Preference for regulatory level (European national)

4 Public understanding of stem cells

5 AWARENESS ABOUT STEM CELLS Recently information has been appearing about a type of cell called stem cells. Have you heard or read anything about this kind of cell? Percentage answering yes Base: all interviewees Sweden Denmark 86,4 86,0 United Kingdom Netherlands Italy France Ireland Spain Czech Republic Germany 75,1 74,7 66,2 65,4 65,4 60,2 58,7 58,0 Awareness varies from one country to another Awareness stands in the medium to high range in most societies Poland Austria 44,1 41,8 United States 76,2 Japan Israel 33,4 39,

6 Percentage having heard/read something about stem cells and answering true to the statement that Stem cells can be transformed into different types of cells that can then be grown into specialised tissues like muscles or nerves Percentage having heard/read something about stem cells and answering false to the statement that Nowadays, stem cells are usually extracted from human embryos without destroying them AWARENESS AND UNDERSTANDING Denmark 75,5 16,0 Sweden 71,1 20,2 United Kingdom Netherlands Italy France 65,0 63,0 53,6 53,4 17,0 19,1 14,3 10,9 Fair to good understanding of the properties of embryonic stem cells Germany Ireland Czech Republic Spain 49,8 49,1 45,4 41,9 8,2 14,7 15,5 11,3 Ignorance about the fact that their extraction involves destroying the embryo Austria 32,4 6,1 Poland 29,5 9,7 United States 64,8 30,0 Japan 27,8 4,1 Israel 25, , Base: total interviewees

7 Views about stem cell research

8 USEFULNESS, MORALITY AND RISKS I am going to read you some sentences about research with human embryos that are a few days old to obtain stem cells and I would like you to tell me how much you agree or disagree with each. Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Is very useful (+) Poses no serious risks (+) Is immoral (-) Denmark Sweden Spain United Kingdom Italy France Ireland 7,0 7,0 6,4 6,3 6,2 6,1 6,1 5,5 4,5 5,0 4,6 4,8 4,7 4,4 4,3 4,8 4,5 4,6 4,7 5,0 5,1 Broad consensus on the usefulness of stem cell research, though without dispelling concerns about its risks or morality Czech Republic Netherlands Germany Poland Austria 6,1 6,0 5,6 5,4 4,9 5,1 5,2 4,5 4,5 3,8 4,9 4,8 5,8 5,9 6,2 Only a few countries place immorality ahead of usefulness United States 5,7 4,0 5,5 Japan 5,5 4,2 5,8 Israel 5,7 4,6 5,

9 MEDICAL BENEFITS EMBRYOS RIGHTS Can you please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 1, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree The medical benefits for many human beings that can perhaps be obtained in the future thanks to research with embryos that are a few days old are much more important than the embryos' rights Medical benefits Embryos rights Spain Czech Republic Sweden Denmark 6,0 5,7 5,7 5,4 + - In the trade-off between ends and means, opinions are divided France 5,2 Netherlands 5,2 Italy 5,0 = United Kingdom 5,0 Poland 4,8 Germany 4,5 Ireland 4,3 Austria 4,1 - + United States 4,3 Japan 4,9 Israel 4,

10 SPECIFIED MEDICAL BENEFITS Can you please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Research with stem cells from embryos that are a few days old should be supported as a means of finding effective treatments for diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, or diabetes as soon as possible Spain Czech Republic Denmark United Kingdom France Sweden Italy Poland Netherlands Ireland Germany Austria 6,8 6,8 6,6 6,5 6,4 6,4 6,3 6,1 6,0 5,9 5,1 4,7 When the medical benefits are spelled out as potential treatments for what citizens consider major diseases ACCEPTANCE GROWS United States Japan Israel 5,5 5,6 5,

11 INTERFERENCE IN NATURAL PROCESSES Can you please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Research with human embryos that are a few days old is an unacceptable interference into the natural processes of life Germany Austria Poland Ireland Czech Republic France Italy United Kingdom Sweden Netherlands Spain Denmark 6,1 6,0 5,9 5,6 5,4 5,4 5,2 5,0 5,0 5,0 4,9 4,7 Citizens in most countries express reservations about interfering in natural processes Feeling that there are some domains which should not be meddled with United States Japan Israel 5,7 5,7 6,

12 UNWANTED CONSEQUENCES: THE SLIPPERY SLOPE Can you please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the following statements? Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement. and 10 means that you totally agree Allowing research with embryos that are a few days old in order to obtain stem cells for use in medicine will open the door to other morally reprehensible uses France Germany Austria Sweden Ireland Poland United Kingdom Spain Netherlands Italy Denmark Czech Republic 6,8 6,7 6,4 6,4 6,0 6,0 5,9 5,7 5,4 5,3 5,2 5,2 Widespread concern about opening the door to other, morally reprehensible uses United States Japan Israel 5,9 6,6 6,

13 View of the moral condition of the embryo

14 A dominant view of the moral condition of the few-day-old embryo as close to or the same as that of a human being VIEW OF THE MORAL CONDITION OF THE EMBRYO In comparative terms. The strictly biological view finds widest support in Denmark and Sweden, where opinions are more evenly balanced The view of the embryo as close or identical to a human being is held most emphatically in Austria, Germany and the United States I'd like you to tell me which of the following four phrases you agree with the most. Base: All interviewees Denmark 38,0 19,2 38,6 4,2 Sweden 35,9 18,1 35,2 10,8 United Kingdom 32,4 15,1 42,4 10,0 Italy France 28,3 27,1 23,6 24, ,4 10,1 5,5 A human embryo that is a few days old Spain 26,6 24,5 35,2 13,6 Czech Republic Netherlands 25,9 24,2 26,9 35,2 38,3 38,3 8,9 2,4 is a mere cluster of cells and it makes no sense to talk about its moral condition Poland Ireland 20,8 20,1 14,5 17,8 43,6 44,9 21,0 17,1 has a moral condition halfway between that of a cluster of cells and a human being Germany 15,4 26,1 51,3 7,2 Austria United States 14,0 24,8 25,3 15,7 52,8 49,2 7,9 10,3 has a moral condition closer to that of a human being than a cluster of cells/ has the same moral condition as a human being Japan 8,8 19, ,7 DK/NA Israel 19,8 22,5 41,7 16,

15 VIEW OF THE MORAL CONDITION OF THE EMBRYO I'd like you to tell me which of the following four phrases you agree with the most. Base: All interviewees Difference a human being a cluster of cells Denmark Sweden United Kingdom Italy France Spain Czech Republic Netherlands Poland Ireland Germany Austria 38,0 38,6 35,9 35,2 32,4 42,4 28,3 38,0 27,1 43,4 26,6 35,2 25,9 38,3 24,2 38,3 20,8 43,6 20,1 44,9 15,4 51,3 14,0 52, A human embryo that is a few days old is a mere cluster of cells and it makes no sense to talk about its moral condition United States Japan Israel 24,8 49,2 8,8 47,0 19,8 41, has a moral condition closer to that of a human being than a cluster of cells/ has the same moral condition as a human being

16 MORAL CONDITION OF THE EMBRYO AND RELIGION Being a believer or a non believer conditions views about the moral status of the embryo. Non believers have a greater tendency to see the embryo as a cluster of cells with no moral condition A human embryo that is a few days old is a mere cluster of cells and it makes no sense to talk about its moral condition has a moral condition halfway between that of a cluster of cells and a human being has a moral condition closer to that of a human being than a cluster of cells/ has the same moral condition as a human being DK/NA Non believer Spain Catholic Non believer France Catholic Non believer Ireland Catholic Non believer Italy Catholic Non believer Austria Catholic Non believer Czech Republic Catholic Non believer Poland Catholic Non believer Denmark Protestant Non believer Sweden Protestant

17 MORAL CONDITION OF THE EMBRYO AND RELIGION A human embryo that is a few days old is a mere cluster of cells and it makes no sense to talk about its moral condition has a moral condition halfway between that of a cluster of cells and a human being has a moral condition closer to that of a human being than a cluster of cells/ has the same moral condition as a human being DK/NA Non believer Catholic Germany Protestant Non believer Catholic Netherlands Protestant Non believer Catholic Protestant United Kingdom Unspecified Christian Non believer Catholic Protestant United States Unspecified Christian Non believer Japan Buddhist Non believer Jew Israel Muslim

18 MORAL CONDITION OF THE EMBRYO AND RELIGION Being a believer or non believer translates differently in each society Differences are more accentuated in Catholic than in Protestant countries In Austria and Germany, the strictly biological view finds only minority support, even among non believers In Japanese society, being a believer or non believer has no impact on views of the embryo I'd like you to tell me which of the following four phrases you agree with the most. Base: All interviewees Spain Denmark Austria Non believers 40,8 26,4 19,4 13,4 Non believers 46,0 19,3 31,5 3,1 Non believers 17,9 29,5 42,8 9,8 Catholics 21,3 23,4 41,3 14,0 Protestants 37,0 18,6 39,4 4,9 Catholics 13,4 22,8 56,6 7, Germany United States Japan Non believers Catholics Protestants 19,0 13,5 13,8 24,3 29,7 25,6 46,8 52,3 53,6 9,9 4,4 7,0 Non believers Catholic Protestant 37,3 15,2 36,9 19,7 20,1 48,4 17,213,4 60,0 10,6 11,9 9,4 Non believers Buddhists 8,7 20,4 46,3 24,6 10,5 17,6 47,1 25, Unspecified Christian 16,7 14,4 61,7 7,3 A human embryo that is a few days old is a mere cluster of cells and it makes no sense to talk about its moral condition has a moral condition halfway between that of a cluster of cells and a human being has a moral condition closer to that of a human being than a cluster of cells/ has the same moral condition as a human being DK/NA

19 Acceptance of the use of embryos to obtain stem cells depending on their origin

20 A clear differentiation by scenario ACCEPTANCE IN TWO SCENARIOS Majority acceptance for research with spare embryos Division of opinions about research with created embryos though the majority of countries stand in the rejection zone I would like you to tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following two statements. Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Research with human embryos that are a few days old to obtain stem cells is morally acceptable in the case of embryos left over from fertility treatments, that is, embryos that will never develop ,8 6,7 6,5 6,3 6,1 5,9 5,9 5,8 5,5 5,2 5,1 4,3 5,1 4,6 5,6 Research with human embryos that are a few days old to obtain stem cells is morally acceptable in the case of embryos that were created specifically for research use ,8 4,9 Denmark Difference 6,2 Sweden Czech Republic 4,9 5,3 5,2 5,1 4,8 5,1 Nether lands Spain Italy 4,0 United France Poland Germany Ireland Austria Kingdom 4,6 4,2 4,5 4,3 4,7 United States Japan Israel

21 ACCEPTANCE IN TWO SCENARIOS I would like you to tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following two statements. Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Research with human embryos that are a few days old to obtain stem cells is morally acceptable Agreement (6-10) Intermediate (5) Disagreement (0-4) DK/NA in the case of embryos left over from fertility treatments, that is, embryos that will never develop Denmark Netherlands Sweden Czech Republic Italy France United Kingdom Spain Germany Poland Ireland Austria United States Japon 32,5 26,0 43,9 41,9 38,4 56,5 54,0 52,8 51,1 46,6 70,3 67,8 65,0 60,8 13,3 23,8 12,1 15,6 17,5 9,9 12,5 14,3 11,8 11,5 20,3 10,2 18,93,2 9,8 30,6 43,5 33,8 Israel 51,0 8,5 32,4 8,1 40,8 6,7 24,6 30,8 24,3 20,2 24,7 12,7 39,5 20,52,6 18,4 21,1 6,7 6,7 10,8 7 10,9 15,9 9,7 16,3 18,9 10,7 4 16,5 in the case of embryos that were created specifically for research use 31,5 32,9 31,1 22,8 45,0 43,8 41,4 48,4 40,0 44,3 39,1 38,0 39,2 57,3 14,1 11,9 13,8 23,6 8,3 13,1 12,2 14,1 12,9 18,2 15,9 11,3 9,5 13,7 13,2 35,5 46,9 46,4 37,5 43,9 26,4 31,5 39,3 39,2 29,3 38,5 33,8 45,1 41,8 23,2 2,7 3,8 7,2 6,3 8,6 7,3 9 16,3 7,5 14,6 19,7 8,8 4,5 16,

22 CHANGES IN ACCEPTANCE OF THE USE OF SPARE EMBRYOS Acceptance of the use of spare embryos has grown slightly I would like you to tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following two statements. Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Research with human embryos that are a few days old to obtain stem cells is morally acceptable in the case of embryos left over from fertility treatments, that is, embryos that will never develop ,1 = 5,8 6,3 5,7 5,9 6,1 5,9 5,5 5,6 5,5 5,2 5,1 = 5,5 4,9 4,3 3, France Netherlands United Kingdom Spain Italy Germany Poland Austria

23 CHANGES IN ACCEPTANCE OF THE USE OF CREATED EMBRYOS Although the majority opinion remains against in many countries, average agreement with the use of created embryos has advanced to a significant extent The result is a narrowing of the acceptance gap between the two scenarios I would like you to tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following two statements. Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Research with human embryos that are a few days old to obtain stem cells is morally acceptable in the case of embryos that were created specifically for research use ,3 5,2 5,1 4,7 4,4 4,1 4,9 4,8 5,1 3,7 4,0 3,9 4,2 4,0 3 2,7 2, Spain Italy United Kingdom Netherlands France Poland Austria Germany

24 ACCEPTANCE OF THE USE OF SPARE EMBRYOS ACCORDING TO VIEWS OF THE EMBRYO Views of the moral condition of the embryo exert a clear influence on the acceptance or otherwise of its research use I would like you to tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following two statements. Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Research with human embryos that are a few days old to obtain stem cells is morally acceptable in the case of embryos left over from fertility treatments, that is, embryos that will never develop. According to views of the moral condition of the embryo ,5 7,4 7,4 7,3 7,1 6,9 6,7 6,6 6,5 6,5 6,4 5,8 5,5 5,3 4,8 5,0 5,2 4,8 4,9 4,5 4,3 3,9 6,0 7,2 3,2 3,2 6,8 4,8 4,4 4, Denmark Sweden Czech Netherlands United Republic Kingdom Spain France Italy GermanyPoland Ireland Austria United States Japan Israel Views of the moral condition of the embryo Answer that a human embryo that is a few days old is a mere cluster of cells and it makes no sense to talk about its moral condition Answer that a human embyo that is a few days old has the same moral condition as a human being

25 ACCEPTANCE OF THE USE OF CREATED EMBRYOS ACCORDING TO VIEWS OF THE EMBRYO I would like you to tell me how much you agree or disagree with each of the following two statements. Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Research with human embryos that are a few days old to obtain stem cells is morally acceptable in the case of embryos that were created specifically for research use. According to views of the moral condition of the embryo ,5 4,9 6,3 6,2 6,2 6, ,9 5,9 5,7 5,6 5,5 4,5 3,7 3,9 3,9 3,9 3,6 3,7 3,8 3,4 2,9 3,0 6,5 2,8 4,9 4,3 5,6 3, Czech Republic United Kingdom Germany Netherlands Italy Spain Poland Ireland Austria France Sweden Denmak United States Japan Israel Views of the moral condition of the embryo Answer that a human embryo that is a few days old is a mere cluster of cells and it makes no sense to talk about its moral condition Answer that a human embyo that is a few days old has the same moral condition as a human being

26 SCENARIO OF NON DESTRUCTION OF THE EMBRYO Scientists are looking into the possibility of obtaining stem cells from embryos left over from fertility treatments using techniques that neither damage nor destroy the embryo. To what extent do you think obtaining stem cells from embryos by means of techniques that neither damage nor destroy them is morally acceptable or not? Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means it is totally unacceptable and 10 that it is totally acceptable In the case of a possible technique that neither damages nor destroys the embryo ACCEPTANCE GROWS Denmark Sweden Czech Republic Spain Netherlands United Kingdom Ireland Italy France Poland Germany Austria 7,2 6,9 6,6 6,4 6,4 6,3 6,3 6,1 6,0 5,8 5,4 5,0 United States Japan Israel 5,2 5,8 6,

27 Creation of hybrid embryos

28 CREATION OF HYBRID EMBRYOS To what extent do you think it is morally acceptable or not to create hybrid embryos a few days old to obtain stem cells that would be used solely and exclusively for research purposes, that is, they would not develop beyond these first few days and the stem cells obtained from them would not be implanted in patients? Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means it is totally unacceptable and 10 that it is totally acceptable Czech Republic Spain Denmark Italy Netherlands Sweden Ireland United Kingdom Germany Austria 5,2 5,1 4,9 5,0 4,7 4,5 4,4 4,2 3,8 3,6 The dominant attitude is one of rejection in most societies France 3,6 Poland 3,5 United States 4,1 Japan 4,1 Israel 5, Before the question, interviewees were given a short presentation on its characteristics: Recently, British scientists have sought permission from their government to create what are known as hybrid embryos, that is, embryos resulting from the union of biological material from two different species (human, animal). Specifically, the nucleus is extracted from the egg of an animal (a rabbit, a cow) and replaced by the nucleus of an adult human cell. The stem cells obtained from this hybrid embryo that is a few days old will be practically 100% human. These stem cells could only be used to advance biomedical research. They would never be used in patients and nor would the hybrid embryos be allowed to develop beyond this preliminary stage"

29 FEARS ABOUT THE CREATION OF HYBRID EMBRYOS Can you please tell me how much you agree or disagree with the statement I am about to read to you? If we allow the creation of hybrid embryos a few days old for the purposes of research, we will end up creating some sort of monster like in the Frankenstein book or movie Base: All interviewees. Average on a scale from 0 to 10, where 0 means you totally disagree with the statement and 10 means that you totally agree Poland France Austria Germany Ireland Italy Spain United Kingdom Czech Republic Sweden Netherlands Denmark 6,5 6,0 5,8 5,4 5,4 5,3 5,0 5,0 4,9 4,1 4,0 3,7 Predominant in most countries is the fear that this technique could get out of control and lend itself to dangerous uses In some countries (Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden) rejection appears to have less to do with such fears and possibly more to do with perceptions that it is interfering in nature United States Japan Israel 4,6 5,6 5,

30 Preference for regulatory level

31 PREFERRED REGULATORY LEVEL IN GENERAL CASES In general, what do you think is the better solution, for laws and regulations to be decided at national level, that is, for them to the responsibility of each individual member country, or for them to be decided at European level, that is, for them to be the responsibility of the European Union? Base: All interviewees in Europe In most European countries, the general preference is for laws and regulations to be decided nationally. This is especially the case in the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark At European level At national level It depends/both DK/NA Germany 44,6 30,0 19,8 5,6 Spain 43,5 23,5 20,8 12,2 Italy 40,4 25,4 22,6 11,6 France 39,9 40,0 15,6 4,5 Netherlands 37,2 48,9 11,5 2,4 The exceptions: Germany, Italy and Spain, whose citizens would rather laws and regulations were decided in Europe, and France, where opinions are more divided Poland Czech Republic Denmark United Kingdom Austria 32,6 28,6 28,0 20,7 20,3 44,6 40,1 47,7 55,9 65,0 20,7 6,6 20,5 14,0 3,2 2,1 7,7 6,5 28,2 6,9 Sweden 18,9 60,1 18,1 2,9 Ireland 17,9 40,3 28,1 13,

32 REGULATION OF RESEARCH WITH EMBRYOS In this specific case, preferences for a given regulatory level are linked to general preferences for one or other level of decision, i.e., the fact the matter in hand is stem cell research does not substantially alter citizens opinions -Clear preference for European legislation: France, Germany, Italy and Spain -Clear preference for national legislation: Denmark, Sweden, Austria, United Kingdom and Ireland France 60,9 29,5 9,6 At present, European Union countries have different laws and regulations concerning research with embryos. In your opinion, who should regulate research with embryos that are a few days old? Base: All interviewees in Europe Germany Italy Spain Netherlands Czech Republic 54,2 53,8 52,5 50,9 46,5 32,5 26,1 28,3 46,7 40,4 13,3 20,1 19,2 2,4 13,1 Poland 42,6 39,1 18,3 The European Union The (NATIONALITY) government Denmark Sweden 34,4 31,8 60,4 59,2 5,1 8,9 DK/NA Austria 30,2 55,9 13,9 Ireland 29,8 48,0 22,1 United Kingdom 29,6 58,1 12,

33 Synthesis

34 Research with embryos to obtain stem cells Ends General and specific medical benefits A clear perception of usefulness Specific medical benefits activate approval Countries exhibit very different reactions in this trade-off between ends and means Means Use of embryos / embryos rights Moral reservations Idea of natural-anti natural (domains which should not be meddled with)

35 Believer or non believer influences View of the moral condition of the embryo influences Acceptance of the use of embryos A clear differentiation by scenario Widespread approval for the use of spare embryos Opinions more divided on created embryos though rejection prevails

36 Map of countries regarding research with embryos to obtain stem cells + Denmark, Czech Republic, Sweden. Spain, Netherlands - FAVORABLE ATTITUDES United Kingdom, France and Italy Ireland, Poland, United States and Israel Austria, Germany, Japan RESERVATIONS - +

37 TECHNICAL NOTE Universe: in each country, general population aged 18 and over. Method: administered face-to-face survey in the interviewee s home. Sample size and distribution: 1,500 cases in each of the 15 countries. Multistage sample distribution stratified by region (NUTS classification or equivalent)/size of habitat, with primary units selected at random. Selection of individual respondents by the last birthday rule. Sampling error: the sampling error estimated is ±2.6%, for a confidence level of 95.5% and in the worst-case scenario (p=q=0.5). Survey coordinated by TNS-Opinión. The fieldwork was conducted between April and June 2007 and January and February 2008.