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The source of this article is Boston Com: http://tinyurl.com/6e38t Kerry Says Lives at Risk as Bush Snubs Science By Greg Frost | October 4, 2004 HAMPTON, N.H. (Reuters) - Democratic White House challenger John Kerry on Monday attacked President Bush for restricting stem cell research and accused him of ignoring science that could offer millions of sick Americans a chance at a cure. Campaigning in New Hampshire with actor and activist Michael J. Fox, who has Parkinson's disease, Kerry said if elected he would remove Bush's restrictions on using federal money for stem cell research and boost funding. Stem cells are unprogramed master cells that can give rise to various cells and tissues. Scientists believe that the cells could lead to cures for ailments like Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries, though such advances would be years and perhaps decades away. The Bush administration, citing ethical concerns, sharply limited federal spending in 2001 on research involving stem cells taken from human embryos. "The hard truth is that when it comes to stem cell research, this president is making the wrong choice to sacrifice science for extreme right-wing ideology," Kerry told a town hall meeting on science at a New Hampshire high school. "President Bush just doesn't get it. Faced with the facts, he just turns away," Kerry said. "Time and again, he's proven that he's stubborn, out of touch, unwilling to change, unwilling to change course." Kerry's campaign released a new television ad devoted to stem cell research that will air in battleground states. In the 30-second spot Kerry says it is time to lift political barriers to the research and that "millions of lives" are at stake. The attack came as a series of polls showed Bush's lead shrinking or disappearing after last week's presidential debate tightened the race with four weeks to go before election day. 'TOO LATE' FOR SOME Kerry's remarks were interrupted by 80-year-old Ruth Pollock, who said she favored his policies but that they were too late to help her generation. "I know that there won't be any cure in time for me," said Pollock, a Portsmouth, New Hampshire, woman who suffers from primary pulmonary hypertension. "I'm voting for you and everything you stand for." Somewhat taken back, Kerry told Pollock he loved her and asked if she needed any help. "I've got to tell you, folks, when you hear somebody stand up and say to you, 'I support you, but it's too late for me,' that's pretty tough," he said. Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt called Kerry's attack "baseless" and "dishonest," noting that there is no ban on stem cell research in America and that Bush was the first president to federally fund stem cell research -- albeit confining it to a few dozen existing lines. Kerry, however, noted that many of the stem cell lines available for federal research money have no scientific value or have been polluted by mouse cells. Kerry has criticized Bush's stem cell research policies before, but the latest attack appeared part of a larger effort by the Democrat to portray Bush as someone who stubbornly ignores facts. But Sen. Bill Frist, the Republican leader in the Senate and a surgeon, contended it was Kerry who was ignoring the facts and misleading the American public. "President Bush is the first president in history to allow federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, and John Kerry knows it," Frist said in a statement. "Scientific research is too important to play politics with, and John Kerry should stop cynically trying to manipulate voters' emotions." © Copyright 2004 The New York Times Company ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn