Enlarge imageBy Patricia Wilson
COLUMBUS, Ohio (Reuters) - Joined by the widow of paralysed actor Christopher Reeve, Democratic challenger John Kerry has attacked U.S. President George W. Bush saying his policy on stem cell research was akin to favouring the candle lobby over electricity.
"It is wrong to tell scientists that they can’t cross the frontiers of new knowledge," the Massachusetts senator said. "It is wrong morally and it is wrong economically, and when I am president, we will change this policy and we will lead the world in stem cell research."
Kerry, running neck-and-neck with Bush in national opinion polls, wants to expand federally funded embryonic stem cell research that could some day be used to engineer personally tailored cells to repair injury or treat disease.
Advertisement starts
Advertisement ends
But Bush has restricted research to already existing lines of stem cells and opposes the use of human embryos as a new source.
Stem cell research is an emotional and contentious issue that Kerry advisers think touches a nerve, especially among women and undecided voters. Some Republican opponents complain that the Democratic ticket is using the death of Reeve and others for political gain.
Kerry’s vice presidential running mate John Edwards raised eyebrows this month when he said: "If we do the work that we can do in this country, the work that we will do when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve will get up out of that wheelchair and walk again."
"Once again, America needs a president who believes in science," Kerry told supporters at a theatre in Columbus. "But George Bush has turned his back on the spirit of exploration and discovery. ... It is wrong to take hope from people."
Kerry, appearing with Dana Reeve, widow of the "Superman" actor, portrayed the Republican president as out of touch. He suggested Bush would have sided "with the candle lobby against electricity, the buggy makers against the cars and the typewriter companies against computers."
PROMISES TO END LIMITS
The senator promised to end limits on stem cell research and encourage technology to move the United States beyond dependence on Middle East oil. He offered a $30 billion (16 billion pound) plan to invest in extending broadband coverage in the United States, calling it critical to long-term growth.
But Dana Reeve and Kerry’s stem cell pledge drew some of the loudest applause.
"I stand here with John Kerry to do my part to advance this country’s commitment to medical research," she said, calling Kerry and her late husband longtime friends and allies.
Reeve, who died on October 10, was the second well-known person this year who has propelled the stem cell issue to the forefront of political debate.
When former U.S. President Ronald Reagan died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease, his son Ron spoke out in support of lifting federal restrictions on the use of human embryos as a stem cell source. His widow Nancy also broke a long silence on the subject.
Kerry has devoted at least two Democratic radio addresses to the issue. He also has campaigned with actor Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease. Asked last Saturday in Xenia, Ohio, who his heroes were, Kerry cited "people who overcome adversity" and named Fox and Reeve.
Strong opponents of abortion such as Utah Republican Senator Orrin Hatch support embryonic stem cell research and are among 206 members of the U.S. House of Representatives and 58 members of the Senate who have signed letters urging Bush to lift the restrictions.
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt said Kerry was misleading Americans about the new federal funding for stem cell research that the president announced in August 2001.
"The facts are President Bush delivered the first funding ever for embryonic stem cell research," he said.
