Nancy Reagan
2006
June 30, 2006
Urged anew by former first lady Nancy Reagan, Senate majority leader Bill Frist yesterday revived a bill to expand funding for embryonic stem cell research after conservatives who had blocked it withdrew their objections.The bill is expected to pass. But for all the progress, President Bush's veto threat remained, said White House spokesman Ken Lisaius.
The bill would permit the government to pay for human embryonic stem cell research, a science that carries promise in the hunt for cures to diseases that afflict millions of people.
Social conservatives liken the research to abortion because the process of extracting stem cells from a days-old embryo results in its death. Bush, who believes the practice is immoral, has threatened to veto the legislation
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Two officials said Nancy Reagan, whose behind-the-scenes advocacy helped the bill win House passage, spoke with Frist last week and urged him to advance it.Her husband, President Ronald Reagan, died in 2004 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease . Some scientists say stem cell research could help relieve the effects of Alzheimer's or possibly lead to a cure.