Michael J. Fox, Muhammad Ali lend drama to Parkinson's hearing
CNN.COM
May 22, 2002 

(CNN) -- Actor Michael J. Fox of "Spin City" TV-show fame and boxing champion Muhammad 
Ali appeared at a Congressional hearing Wednesday morning to appeal for more money to 
support research into Parkinson's disease, a malady that afflicts both celebrities.The hearing included 
requests for mitigated restrictions on stem cell research and testimony about how the disease 
stiffens the body, eventually disabling it, while leaving the mind intact. 

The Senate Subcommittee on Labor, Health, Human Services and Education convened the hearing.

Joan Samuelson, founder and president of the Parkinson's Action Network testified about the necessity of hope for Parkinson's sufferers. Additional funding would diminish victims' despair.

Muhammad Ali's wife Lonnie Ali spoke for her husband: "This tragic underfunding may lead to missed opportunities for better treatment or even for a cure."
"We have a disease for which we can't hope that we are going to outlive the odds, that we're going to beat the odds, because there aren't any odds to beat," Samuelson said. "There isn't such a thing a remission, there isn't such a thing of a combination of chemo and radiation that causes us to be labeled as a survivor and be able to march in parades with that label."

Fox addressed the debate involving stem cell research, which involves converting unspecialized cells from embryos into specific, desired cells. (More on stem cell research)

"It's important to make clear that the debate is not about promoting one type of research over others," Fox said. "It's about protecting researchers from being demonized or criminalized so they can go about their work exploring new opportunities to treat illness and disease. Development of such promising new therapies puts us on the threshold of a new era in medicine."