A growing number of Americans believe that an individual’s gender should be determined based on the sex listed on their birth certificate, a new poll has found.
The NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist poll released Wednesday found that 61% of Americans — up 10 percent from May 2022 — say “defining gender as the sex listed on a person’s original birth certificate is the only way to define male and female in society.”
Down from 42% last year, 36% of those who took part in the poll from June 12-14 said they believe that the “definition of gender is antiquated and needs to be updated to include identity.”
Those who were surveyed also weighed in on similar topics, including whether they support sex change procedures for transgender minors or adults 18 and older.
Forty-five percent of Americans said they believe transition-related procedures or care should only be provided to adults over the age of 18. Another 31% believe Americans 18 or older and minors who have parental consent should be allowed to receive “gender transition-related healthcare.”
Twenty-three percent of Americans said they believe no one should be allowed access to that type of healthcare, regardless of age.
While a slim majority of the Republicans who were surveyed said they would limit access to gender transition treatments to adults (52%), another 37% said they would ban such procedures completely.
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Fifty-one percent of Democrats said they support gender transition procedures for adults over the age of 18 and minors who have received the consent of a parent or guardian. Additionally, 34% of Democrats support the procedures and treatment for adults over the age of 18 only.
The NPR, PBS NewsHour and Marist poll has a sample size of 467 people and a margin of error of +/- 5.9 percentage points.
Last month, a Washington Post-KFF poll outlined similar results.
The poll found that 57% of American adults believe gender is based on the sex “assigned” at birth, while 43% say a person could change their gender later in life.
Fifty-three percent of 18- to 34-year-olds believe that gender is based on birth sex, while 47% believe one can change their gender later in life. Sixty-three percent of adults 55 to 64 years of age believe that gender is based on the sex “assigned” at birth.