NATALIE ALLEN, CNN ANCHOR: Actor Christopher Reeve today urged a Senate subcommittee to drop a federal ban on stem cell research. These cells could be the key to repairing damaged organs, like Reeve's injured spinal cord. But as CNN medical correspondent Dr. Steve Salvatore reports, the source of these cells is controversial.</s>DR. STEVE SALVATORE, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Stem cells are so valuable, researchers keep them under lock and key. Stem cells are blank cells that can potentially be turned into virtually any tissue in the human body.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stem cells are unique in that they have a capability of self-renewal, they can give rise to many cells of the same type. But they also have the very special property of giving rise to unique cells, specialized cells, such as heart cells, muscle cells, nerve cells and pancreas cells, under the right conditions.</s>SALVATORE: Or cells to repair damaged spinal cords. Christopher Reeve, paralyzed since a 1995 horse accident, is lobbying Capitol Hill to move this research forward.</s>CHRISTOPHER REEVE, ACTOR: For the true biological miracles that researchers have only begun to perceive, medical science must turn on differentiated stem cells. We need to clear the path for them as quickly as possible.</s>SALVATORE: Right now, the government has a ban on federal dollars for the research because it involves using tissue from human embryos or fetuses.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At the very center of this debate is the real question: Is the young human person or property?</s>SALVATORE: Meanwhile, on Capitol Hill, some lawmakers have introduced legislation to lift the federal ban on stem cell funding. And the National Institutes of Health is working toward a compromise that would allow federal funding and address ethical concerns of the research, research that Christopher Reeve believes will help him walk again. Dr. Steve Salvatore, CNN, New York.
Actor Christopher Reeve Urges Senate to Drop Federal Ban on Stem Cell Research