Words of wisdom from Mr. Fox:
On Parkinson’s disease: It’s a gift... in this case, it's the gift that keeps on taking.
This article was posted in the local paper in San Diego:
By Sandi Dolbee
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER 2:42 p.m. December 14, 2007
SAN DIEGO – His body jerking and shaking from the toll of Parkinson's disease, actor Michael J. Fox said Friday he's excited by recent news that adult skin cells have been reprogrammed to act like embryonic stem cells – but lamented the energy and resources being put into this and other alternative approaches.
“The irony is that every big development in this area in the past few years has involved efforts to mimic embryonic stem cells,” Fox said to about 4,500 people gathered at the San Diego Convention Center for the biennial meeting of the Union for Reform Judaism
“With research that had gone into recreating what everyone agrees is the gold standard, who's to say how close we might be to new treatment now if we had been pressing forward with (embryonic) stem cells the whole time,” he said.
Fox, who received an award from the Jewish group for championing disease research, was given three standing ovations, and his comments were often punctuated with applause.
The still boyish-looking actor, known for roles on “Family Ties,” “Spin City” and “Back to the Future,” was diagnosed with Parkinson's, a progressive neurological disorder, in 1991 at age 30. In 2000, shortly after going public with his disease, Fox started the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research. It has since raised $100 million.
Fox acknowledged that he's received much criticism from conservatives who oppose human embryonic stem cell research because the embryo is destroyed in the process.
In one highly publicized episode last year, Fox drew the ire of conservative radio commentator Rush Limbaugh, who said Fox's visible shaking in a TV ad for a Democratic candidate was because he was “either off his medication or acting.”
The Reform movement, the country's largest and most liberal of the three main branches of Judaism, supports embryonic stem cell research.
Fox, who attends a Reform congregation in New York with his family, told Friday of helping his twin daughters with their Torah homework. The passage was about David, a boy who killed a giant named Goliath with a stone. People wanted to give him armor and a sword for the fight, but David refused.
“I think David understood something fundamental about the deepest ideals of repairing the world,” Fox said. “The armor, the weapons, the swords, they're just distraction – and distraction is not what wins the battle. You just need the truth.”
But truth, in the volatile debate over stem cells, depends upon who is asked.
Embryonic stem cells are touted by many scientists as crucial, because they have the ability to become virtually any cell in the body – and lead to potential cures. But opponents argue that destroying an embryo, like abortion, amounts to the taking of an unborn life.
Afterward, Fox was joined on the stage with Boston rabbi Elaine Zecher, who asked him what he feared the most.
His answer: fear itself.
“I just think that if you contemplate the worst-case scenario and it happens, you lose it twice.”
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