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Saturday July 14 6:50 AM ET Report: Nancy Reagan Advocates Stem Cell Research WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former first lady Nancy Reagan has appealed to President Bush to continue federal funding for stem cell research using human embryos, the Washington Post reported on Saturday. Former President Ronald Reagan has Alzheimer's disease, a degenerative malady which many scientists believe can be helped by treatments derived from stem cells. The Post said two people who had read the letter paraphrased the former first lady as saying: ``My husband and I believe our legacy should be that no other family should have to go through what our family has been through.'' The newspaper said Mrs. Reagan made her appeal in a letter that was hand-delivered to the White House a month ago by former Reagan aide Michael Deaver. The Reagan administration was staunchly anti-abortion. Citing sources who have seen Bush's response, the newspaper said Bush acknowledged the letter but gave no indication of his own opinion on stem cell research. There is an ongoing debate between those who believe stem cell research can lead to medical advances on such illnesses as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, and those who are against any research that destroys human embryos. The White House said Bush is nearing a decision on whether to allow spending of federal funds for research into human embryonic cells. However spokesman Ari Fleischer this week gave no indication of when that decision would come or which way Bush is leaning. Bush met in the Oval Office on Tuesday with a group of bioethicists on both sides of the issue. SOURCE: Yahoo.com Daily News http://dailynews.yahoo.com/htx/nm/20010714/ts/bush_stemcell_reagan_dc_1.html * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn