Poll: Less than half of young Poles support IVF

The survey, undertaken by SW Research for the Newsweek Polska weekly, reveals that only 46.4 percent of Poles in the age bracket are for the fertilisation treatment.

According to sociologist Professor Ryszard Cichocki, the figure does not mean that younger Poles are more conservative than their elders, however.

“Here we see conservatism with regards to belief, not behaviour,” Cichocki said, adding that “there is a difference between what is declared and what is believed in”.

The survey also found that as many as 32.2 percent of young Poles do not know under what circumstances IVF could be implemented if a couple were not able to have children.

“This is a consequence of a lack of elementary knowledge [about the procedure],” Cichocki said.

Meanwhile, the poll found that IVF has the greatest support among Poles aged 35-49, with as many as 62.8 percent willing to go ahead with the procedure. “These are people who for the most part have already had children and they know the value of [having kids],” Cichocki comments.

Overall, the SW Research survey found that 56.4 percent of all Poles are in favour of IVF when faced with a situation where they could not have children.

The poll was undertaken on a representative selection of 800 Poles aged 16-64. (jb)