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Sen. Majority Leader Bill Frist blasted vice presidential hopeful John Edwards on Tuesday, after Edwards promised that if John Kerry wins the election he'll cure paralysis victims like the late actor Christopher Reeve. Calling Reeve "a powerful voice for the need to do stem cell research," Edwards pledged Monday, "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." In a conference call with reporters the next day, Frist fired back. "I find...

There's a thin line between advocacy and exploitation. Supporters of more federal funds for stem cell research, such as John Kerry [related, bio], should be wary of crossing it following the death of Christopher Reeve.      Reeve inspired millions with his courage, including not only those facing spinal cord and other life-changing injuries and illnesses, but also those of us simply encouraged by his strength of spirit. Reeve also helped raise millions of dollars for spinal cord injury research, including human stem cell research.      That work continues, as dedicated scientists make huge advances in the field, particularly with the use of...

McDonald said that he and Reeve had spoken about the possibility of donating his brain and spinal cord for study. But Goldberg said yesterday that there would be no autopsy.

At a campaign rally yesterday, John Edwards used the death of Christopher Reeve to score political points. He said that that the needs of those with spinal ailments such as Reeve have been neglected by the Bush administration, and even went as far to suggest that under a President Kerry that they would be able to walk again. Their contention is that Bush is choosing the life of a cell over human beings by not expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Firstly, the truth is that President Bush has never banned it, he simply stopped federal spending on...

John Edwards ridiculous claim of "...when John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to get up out of that wheelchair and walk again." is more proof of the basic lack of respect for life that many liberals espouse. They use the death of others to further their own political aspirations. This lack of respect seems to show itself more than ever at election time as evidenced by the now infamous Paul Wellstone memorial where, sadly, his death was used by friends of his to try and get Mondale elected.

Edwards Stem Cell Vision: 'We will stop juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and other debilitating diseases... When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going get up out of that wheelchair and walk again.' Edwards made the unprecedented campaign promises during 30-minute speech at Newton High School gym in Newton, Iowa...

If the quote on Drudge is accurate -- and I've been told it definitely is -- than Edwards should be so ashamed of himself. He allegedly said 'When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk. Get up out of that wheelchair and walk again..." This is outrageous beyond belief. I really hope I don't have to explain why. Update: K-Lo beat me by 2 minutes. Grrr. Clearly she's feeling the power of John Kerry run through her.

The death of Christopher Reeve illustrated something that those who live with paralysis know all too well: the challenges go far beyond the inability to walk. "Walking is the least of it," said Donna Messinger, who is 43 and has been paralyzed since an automobile accident in her senior year of college. Mr. Reeve died of cardiac arrest on Sunday. He had previously been treated for a severe systemic infection that was, in turn, caused by a pressure wound, the medical term for a bedsore, a common complication for people who are paralyzed. Mr. Reeve was, in fact, one of...

RUSH: Jeff in Madison, Ohio. Nice to have you with us. Welcome to the program. CALLER: Thanks, Rush. It's great to talk to you. RUSH: Thank you, sir. CALLER: I just want to -- I'm a 23-year-old, been a quadriplegic for the past six and a half years. I broke my neck at a high school swim meet, and it's upsetting to hear Edwards and Kerry talk about how stem cell research is going to be this miracle cure for us when I know through talking to my doctors that what stem cell research is finding out right now will...

At a campaign rally yesterday, John Edwards used the death of Christopher Reeve to score political points. He said that that the needs of those with spinal ailments such as Reeve have been neglected by the Bush administration, and even went as far to suggest that under a President Kerry that they would be able to walk again. Their contention is that Bush is choosing the life of a cell over human beings by not expanding federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Firstly, the truth is that President Bush has never banned it, he simply stopped federal spending on...

A circus wagon rolls into a small town. Carnival lights flash as the side of the wagon lowers into a stage. Two men, dressed in sequins and top hats begin to address the crowd. The one is tall and gaunt with sunken eyes and an unnaturally wrinkle-free forehead. The other, slightly shorter man has a wide grin and golden hair worthy of a shampoo commercial. They call each other John. John #1 begins: “Hurry, hurry! Step right up. Help is on the way! My assistant, John, is holding in his hand a small bottle of elixir. It’s a panacea...

People who never met Christopher Reeve were emboldened by his crusade. If only President Bush had been one of them I wonder if President Bush could look into the eyes of Christopher Reeve’s family and tell that that it’s because he values life so deeply that he is preserving clusters of cells in freezers...

Edwards: 'When John Kerry is president, people like Christopher Reeve are going to walk. Get up out of that wheelchair and walk again'...

...President Bush initiated federal funding of research on embryonic stem cells — but with substantial limits, which John Kerry promises to lift. As is often the case when politics infuses science, truth tends to suffer. Kerry insinuates that Bush has effected a federal ban on such study. Not so: Limitations on what the government will fund aren't a ban. Kerry also claims that unfettered stem-cell research presents "the option" of curing spinal-cord injuries, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers and other such horrifying afflictions. If that is true — and perhaps it might be — substantive breakthroughs are many, many years in the...

It's sad that Christopher Reeves is dead, but with Kerry mentioning him in Fridays debate, brings me to a question. Will Kerry sink to a new low and use Cristopher Reeve's death for political gain? I think so, him and the deocrats did that with Reagans death, having Ronald Reagan Jr. speak at the dnc, pointed out in the debate Nancy Reagan was in favor of it. He's used Ronald Reagan before, luckily Bush has pointed out how Kerry's called Reagan's years eight years of darkness. If he does I hope everyone sees through it.

Q: How did you get involved in the debate on stem cell research?A: Hardly a week goes by that people don't ask me, "Have you ever talked with Christopher Reeve? I saw him the other day on television and ..." People are curious about where I stand regarding the paralyzed actor's hope for a cure through what he calls therapeutic cloning. After all, I'm disabled. Don't I want a cure? I would love to walk. But 35 years of quadriplegia since a diving accident in 1967 has honed my perspective. I look at the broader implications of medical research as...

Actor Christopher Reeve Dead at 52 Monday, October 11, 2004 BEDFORD, NY — Christopher Reeve, the star of the "Superman" movies whose near-fatal riding accident nine years ago turned him into a worldwide advocate for spinal cord research, died Sunday of heart failure, his publicist said. He was 52. Reeve fell into a coma Saturday after going into cardiac arrest while at his New York home, his publicist, Wesley Combs told The Associated Press by phone from Washington, D.C., on Sunday night. Reeve was being treated at Northern Westchester Hospital for a pressure wound, a common complication for people living...

he New Jersey state legislature recently passed a "clone and kill" bill that allows the creation of cloned human embryos that can be implanted into a woman's womb and then destroyed at any point during their development for use in scientific research. As expected, New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey signed the bill, making it be the most extreme law ever passed regarding human cloning and embryonic stem cell research. Supporters say it is an innocuous and forward-looking law opposed only by extremists. But the new statute will have morally disastrous effects. Most notably, it creates a commercial market for the...

BOSTON -- A new procedure using an implantable ventilator is allowing people like actor Christopher Reeve a level of independence they once only dreamed of. ... Reeve received a new lease on life in the form of an implantable ventilator. The device has been around for decades, but the actor is one of only five people in the nation to have undergone a new twist on the procedure.

<p>July 30, 2003 -- REHOVOT, Israel - Actor Christopher Reeve told an Israeli audience yesterday he thinks there is a good chance he will walk again - provided "politics and religion" don't interfere with scientific research.</p> <p>The "Superman" star, who has been paralyzed from the neck down since an equestrian accident in 1995, is on a five-day visit to Israel, visiting research facilities and hospitals to study advances in treatment for spinal-cord injuries.</p>