Fox Urges Action on Stem Cells Measure

By DESMOND BUTLER

NEW YORK – Actor Michael J. Fox on Friday urged President Bush and the newly elected Democratic Congress to work together to pass legislation backing stem cell research.

Fox, 45, also called on Bush to reconsider his policy of strict limits on federal funding for the work.

Bush “has acknowledged that the people of America want change, and he has pledged to work with new congressional leaders,” Fox said in a statement. “He could take no stronger action than signing legislation that finally expands our nation’s commitment to stem cell research.”

Fox also thanked Democratic leaders for their willingness to focus on stem cell research “as one of their first priorities.”

Fox, who has Parkinson’s disease, supports embryonic stem cell research as a possible cure for Parkinson’s, as well other diseases.

He drew criticism from some conservatives for a Missouri political ad that showed him visibly shaking while urging viewers to vote yes for stem-cell ballot initiative and for a Democratic Senate candidate over the Republican incumbent. The initiative narrowly passed on Tuesday.

Fox, who starred on TV’s “Family Ties” as well as the “Back to the Future” films, was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 1991 and revealed his condition publicly in 1998. In 2000, he quit full-time acting because of his symptoms and founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, which has raised millions of dollars.