Paralysis doesn't sway lawmaker

Two weeks ago, a state lawmaker who has been paralyzed for more than 30 years made a dramatic plea to his colleagues, urging them to reject legislation endorsing embryonic stem-cell research even though he could benefit from it someday.

The unusual overture by Representative Thomas P. Kennedy -- who says he is the only Beacon Hill legislator in a wheelchair -- provided a rare moment of Democratic support for Republican Governor Mitt Romney on stem-cell research legislation. The Legislature voted overwhelmingly for the bill, but lawmakers will consider Romney's proposed changes today.

''Advocates say [this] is going to help cure diabetes, and Lou Gehrig's Disease, and spinal injuries may be one of them, but I'm not here to look for cures for myself, I'm here to make a choice on whether this is a wise move for Massachusetts and our society to go in," said Kennedy, a 53-year-old Brockton Democrat, in a phone interview this week. ''I fear we're pushing the envelope too far and too fast on this one. Science moves methodically and slowly -- we should as well."

Today, the Legislature is expected to consider four changes proposed by Romney, who wants lawmakers to prohibit scientists from cloning and to remove a passage in the bill that redefines when life begins. The Democratic-run Legislature is expected to reject the governor's amendments, but Kennedy, who was hoping to attend today's session despite health problems, said he would probably vote for the proposed changes.

''Within the community of people with disabilities and lifelong diseases, there's a real division over the ethics of cloning, and Representative Kennedy, like Governor Romney, wants to look for ways to encourage scientific discovery while still respecting the dignity of human life," said Eric Fehrnstrom, Romney's communications director.

Kennedy, an abortion opponent, appears to be a more ardent opponent to stem-cell research than Romney, who supports embryonic stem cell research as long as it does not include cloning. Kennedy said he believes embryonic stem-cell research raises questions about the destruction of human life. Taking the argument further than Romney has, Kennedy prefers that lawmakers allow only a type of stem-cell research done with cells derived from the umbilical cords of mothers giving birth.

''I truly respect every member of the Legislature that's looking to advance this . . . and I recognize the best of intentions are motivating them, but do we properly understand all that we're voting on and all it contains?" said Kennedy, the son of a Massachusetts nurse. ''Even doctors have confessed to me they don't know enough about embryonic stem-cell research . . . and there's a lot of puzzlement as to what and what isn't true."

When he was 19, Kennedy slipped out of a window he was washing at a Catholic seminary in New York, where he was studying to be a priest. He fell three stories to the ground and broke his neck.

Kennedy abandoned his plans for priesthood after two years of hospitalizations and physical therapy. Soon, the mayor of Brockton offered him a job. A few years later, Kennedy became a city councilor in Brockton when he was ''bit by the political bug." He was elected to the state Legislature in 1983.

Representative Daniel E. Bosley, a North Adams Democrat who backs the stem-cell bill, said support for the legislation, as well as opposition to it, crosses party lines. Nineteen of the 38 lawmakers who voted against the bill are Democrats.

''This is an issue close to everyone's heart, and people are going to vote their conscience," Bosley said.

But both Bosley and Representative John J. Binienda said Kennedy's view added a human perspective to the State House's stem-cell debate two weeks ago.

''He's a force," said Binienda, a Worcester Democrat who, like Kennedy, voted against the stem-cell research bill. ''And with all the things wrong with him, for him to be opposed [to stem-cell research], that definitely shows what his views and his values are."

Said Kennedy: ''We're certainly entering a new world of medicine, but science requires time. . . . Adopting a bill like this doesn't guarantee that pace is going to be any different. Right now I'd rather err on the side of caution."

Janette Neuwahl can be reached at jneuwahl@globe.com.