Pelosi criticizes Bush stance on stem-cell research

Stephen Curran

Wednesday, Oct. 27, 2004 | 9:12 a.m.

Democrats this year are hoping stories like Bryan Jones' will be enough to sway one of the closest presidential races in history.

Jones, once a promising student expecting to attend San Jose State University in California on a soccer scholarship, is now a 21-year-old paraplegic, having been paralyzed in a diving accident in 2001.

His father, Las Vegas small business owner Brad Jones, and stepmother, Louise Jones, have pinned their hopes on stem cell research, the controversial field of science that researchers say could hold the key to healing spinal cord injuries and curing or treating myriad other ailments.

Louise Jones, photo collage of her stepson in hand, was part of a panel led by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., at the Green Valley Library on Tuesday. The panel was drumming up support for Democratic congressional candidate Tom Gallagher.

Brad Jones stood near the back as his wife spoke. Their son, who attends a community college in Atlanta, did not attend.

"I don't think I could've gotten up there," Brad Jones said.

Gallagher, on hand to tout his own health care proposals, told the crowd the research promised cures to diseases.

Pelosi, a frequent critic of the Bush administration, took aim at the administration for advancing what she called a "radical right-wing agenda" by placing strict limitations on the technology.

"They are trying to make this a religious issue," Pelosi said of the research, which is opposed primarily by evangelical Christian and Roman Catholic groups. "Stem cell research has a Biblical power to cure, but the administration doesn't support it."

Frank Tepper, a former gym teacher who suffers from a neurological disorder brought on by a discus accident when he was in college, received stem cell therapy outside the country. He was also on hand to campaign for Gallagher.

Tepper, who would not say where he received the stem cell treatment, credits the technology for helping him walk after years confined to a wheelchair.

"I was always hobbling and it got so bad I was in the hospital all the time," he said. "I'm standing now."

The president has supported limited stem cell research, but is opposed to expanding the number of stem cell lines scientists can use, a stance that has caused a rift within the Republican Party.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenneger this week announced his support for a $3 billion bond measure to fund stem cell research in that state and former first lady Nancy Reagan has also publicly supported the technology.

Rep. Jon Porter, R-Las Vegas, supports expanding federal funding for stem cell research, Adam Mayberry, a spokesman for the congressman, said.

Gallagher will face Porter next week in what has become a contentious election for the District 3 seat.

Porter, along with 22 other Republicans, has co-sponsored bipartisan legislation now moving through the Congress to allow for greater embryonic stem cell research. Another 187 Democrats, including Pelosi and Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Las Vegas, co-sponsored the bill, which sets a series of ethical guidelines for the research.

"He (Porter) believes we should go beyond what the president is proposing," Mayberry said. "Clearly there are different opinions on both sides of the aisle. This is the very important genesis of something we're going to continue to hear about in future years."

Meanwhile, it has evolved into a divisive election issue as Democrats have accused the Bush administration of blocking advances in the technology. Advances in the research have consistently been opposed by conservative religious groups but are favored by 58 percent of the general public, according to an ABC News poll conducted in June.

Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry has promised increased federal funding for stem cell research if elected. He has repeatedly said that the nation "needs a president who believes in science."

The cause had been championed by actor Christopher Reeve, himself a quadraplegic who died earlier this month from complications arising from a horseriding accident in 1995. His widow, Dana Reeve, has actively campaigned for Kerry.

The issue was significant enough for Brad Jones, a former longtime Republican, to reregister last year as a Democrat and throw his support behind Kerry.

"This really struck home," Brad Jones said. "That kid knows he's going to walk again."