Dana Reeve Will Attend President Bush's Speech, Hopes for Stem Cell Funds

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http://www.lifenews.com/bio668.html

by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
February 1, 2005

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) -- Dana Reeve, the widow of former Superman actor Christopher Reeve, will attend President Bush's State of the Union address with the hope of hearing him propose additional funding for stem cell research.

Reeve will attend the Wednesday speech at the invitation of Rhode Island Democratic congressman Jim Langevin, who opposes abortion but strongly supports embryonic stem cell research.

Dana Reeve, recently selected to replace her husband as the chair of the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation, endorsed John Kerry during the presidential elections and attacked President Bush's policy prohibiting federal funding of new research that involves the destruction of human life.

"It is truly an honor to be present as the president outlines his agenda before the nation," Reeve said in a press release. "I look forward to learning what plans he has to further scientific research and improve the quality of life for millions of Americans living with paralysis and other debilitating conditions."

Langevin told the Associated Press "it is my hope that having Dana present at the State of the Union will help refocus the nation's attention and the president's attention on stem cell research and the need for more funding.''

In August 2001, Bush put forward the policy against funding new research that destroys unborn children. Instead, Bush has spent more than $190 million on research involving adult stem cells, which has already produced dozens of treatments and cures.

Reeve will likely come away disappointed as the president has twice recently reaffirmed the moral principles behind his policy.

In an interview with the New York Times last week, Bush said, "destroying life to create life is not ethical" and that "whether it happens in the private sector or the public sector, it doesn't change the ethics."

Earlier in January, the president spoke to hundreds of thousands of pro-life advocates gathered for the March for Life.

President Bush explained that the controversial issues of human cloning and embryonic stem cell research must be tackled from a pro-life perspective.

"We're also moving ahead in terms of medicine and research to make sure that the gifts of science are consistent with our highest values of freedom, equality, family and human dignity. We will not sanction the creation of life only to destroy it," Bush said.

The president has endorsed legislation in Congress to ban all forms of human cloning, both for reproductive purposes as well as to create human embryos to be killed for research.