Mrs. Reagan speaks out for stem cell research

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- Nancy Reagan made an impassioned call for taking controversial stem cell research out of the political arena, saying it could help cure illnesses like Alzheimer's, which so sorely afflicts her husband.

At a celebrity-packed dinner in Beverly Hills Saturday night, the wife of the former president lent a powerful conservative Republican voice to the debate. The Bush administration and antiabortion groups strongly oppose stem cell research.

Speaking to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Reagan noted that Alzheimer's had taken her husband, Ronald Reagan, "to a distant place where I can no longer reach him and share our 52 years."

She added after accepting the group's Care Giver's Award, "Science has presented us with a hope called stem cell research, which may provide our scientists with many answers that for so long have been beyond our grasp. I just don't see how we can turn our backs on this.

"We have lost so much time already. I just really can't bear to lose any more."

Letters from former presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Bill Clinton supporting Reagan's efforts on embryonic stem cell research were read to the dinner by actors Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart. There was no comment from the Bush administration, which has placed severe restrictions on stem cell research, because it can involve using cells from human embryos.

Organizers of the event, which also raised money for stem cell research, said it was the first time that Reagan had made a public speech on the issue, though her views have long been known.

Actor Michael J. Fox, a supporter of stem cell research because it could help lead to a cure for Parkinson's disease from which he suffers, said, "For someone like Mrs. Reagan to step outside of political or ideological groupings and just speak to what she believes . . . can help people is tremendously valuable," he said.