Yesterday, the Senate passed the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act with 63 votes, joining the house in its support for stem cell research. Scientists have shown how stem cells can help paralyzed mice walk and can create T-cells which could be used in the fight against AIDS. The President has said he will veto the bill and it does not appear the Congress will have the votes to override the veto.
Since there are now only 21 stem cell lines eligible for federal research funding, all of which are contaminated, this bill would allow American Scientists to research uncontaminated stem cell lines from the some 400,000 excess embryos in fertility clinics, many of which will be discarded. People would be able to donate these embryos to research that could lead to cures for medical conditions that affect tens of millions of Americans. Conditions such as Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's disease (ALS), diabetes, and those who have suffered spinal cord injuries.
While some social conservatives have tried to use this as yet another tool in the culture wars, claiming it divides Americans, the facts just don't back it up. 70% of Americans support the legislation, probably one of the reasons it sailed through Congress, while immigration continues to stagger. Many of the legislation's supporters are not what you would call "liberals," Orrin Hatch, Bill Frist, Nancy Reagan, to name a few.
Since research first unearthed the power of stem cells to aid in the cure of dozens of diseases, including Alzheimer's, Mrs. Reagan has begged her husband's party to support critical research into therapeutic stem cell cloning. The last ten years have steeled Mrs. Reagan and her family to the suffering millions of American families face every year from Alzheimer's.
Mrs. Reagan speaks bravely of the pain she and the former President went through in the years leading to his death. Alzheimer's begins with mild memory loss and slowly progresses to the loss of virtually all memory and control of bodily functions. Mrs. Reagan's honest description of the anguish of a long and gradual twilight is perhaps one of her greatest contributions.
She joined hundreds of scientific, medical, and religious authorities in asking for politicians to support this legislation: "Science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research, which may provide our scientists with answers that have so long been beyond our grasp. I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this," she said.
After renaming Washington National Airport and the largest Federal building in the Capital after Ronald Reagan conservatives set out on many "Reagan Legacy Projects." Grover Norquist made waves with the suggestion that Ronald Reagan's face be added to Mount Rushmore and put on the $10 bill and dime. He also proposed constructing a Ronald Reagan Memorial on the National Mall and erecting a statue of him in every county in the United States. Nancy Reagan said, "I do not support this and I am certain Ronnie would not." While she may not love the push to idolize her Ronnie on coins we do know she supports honoring him by funding research to cure the disease that killed him.
Ronald Reagan's greatest legacy may well be the no-nonsense approach of Nancy Reagan to his illness.