WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Stark campaign ads featuring actor Michael J. Fox's uncontrollable shaking caused by the medication he takes for Parkinson's disease sparked debate this week, resulting in a rise in support for the stem cell research he endorses.
A poll released late on Wednesday showed that U.S. voters' support for stem cell research jumped 5 percentage points after they viewed a television ad in which Fox -- whose body shook with spasms -- urges them to back candidates who favor the research.
The national poll by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion surveyed 955 people on Tuesday and Wednesday and found support for stem cell research at 83 percent after viewing the ad, up from 78 percent previously.
It also said the level of concern regarding a candidate's view on the issue rose to 70 percent after the respondents viewed the ad, up from 57 percent.
Fox's political advisor, John Rogers, explained that the actor's involuntary, repetitive movement seen in his campaign ads stem from a condition called dyskinesia, a common side effect of the medication many Parkinson's sufferers take to allow them greater mobility.
"Many people (with Parkinson's) who don't take their mediations cannot talk," Rogers said.
The 45-year-old Fox, who was diagnosed with the debilitating disease in 1991, starred in the blockbuster "Back to the Future" movies and the TV series "Family Ties." He now spends much of his time on behalf of Parkinson's and supports stem cell research as a way to help find a cure.
In the run-up to the November 7 elections, Fox taped ads for Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, as well as Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, all of whom back stem cell research. Fox was appearing across the country with other candidates, including Democratic Senate candidate James Webb next week in Virginia.
The races are among the most closely watched in next month's election as Democrats try to take the congressional majority from Republicans.
"They say all politics is local, but it's not always the case," Fox says in the ad for McCaskill, his shoulders jerking and his body swaying uncontrollably. "What you do in Missouri matters to millions of Americans, Americans like me."
Polls show Missouri voters backing 2-to-1 what would be the first state constitutional amendment to protect embryonic stem-cell research and treatments from legislative restrictions, as long as they are permitted under federal law.
OPPONENTS
Opponents of the measure include the Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups who say it immorally encourages human cloning as well as the unnecessary destruction of life.
After the ads began airing, nationally syndicated conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Fox was allowing his illness to be exploited and accused him of acting in the ad or not taking his medication in order to shake so much.
"All I'm saying is I've never seen him the way he appears in this commercial for Claire McCaskill," Limbaugh said on his syndicated radio show. "I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act."
Rogers, vice chair of an advocacy group called the Parkinson's Action Network, said Fox was so astounded by the criticism leveled by Limbaugh that his first reaction was to ask, "He said what?"
Limbaugh later issued a qualified apology and said Fox was raising false hopes by implying that a vote for McCaskill could lead to a cure for Parkinson's. The progressive, incurable disease affects 1 percent of Americans over the age of 65 and is marked by the destruction of brain cells that produce dopamine, which is key to movement.
The talk show host's comments sparked criticism from some listeners and lawmakers. "Ridiculing Mr. Fox's symptoms does not bring us any closer to curing Parkinson's disease, but supporting stem cell research would," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (news, bio, voting record), a New York Democrat and co-founder of the Congressional Working Group on Parkinson's disease. President George W. Bush has limited federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells and issued his first-ever veto against legislation to expand it.
A poll released late on Wednesday showed that U.S. voters' support for stem cell research jumped 5 percentage points after they viewed a television ad in which Fox -- whose body shook with spasms -- urges them to back candidates who favor the research.
The national poll by HCD Research and Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion surveyed 955 people on Tuesday and Wednesday and found support for stem cell research at 83 percent after viewing the ad, up from 78 percent previously.
It also said the level of concern regarding a candidate's view on the issue rose to 70 percent after the respondents viewed the ad, up from 57 percent.
Fox's political advisor, John Rogers, explained that the actor's involuntary, repetitive movement seen in his campaign ads stem from a condition called dyskinesia, a common side effect of the medication many Parkinson's sufferers take to allow them greater mobility.
"Many people (with Parkinson's) who don't take their mediations cannot talk," Rogers said.
The 45-year-old Fox, who was diagnosed with the debilitating disease in 1991, starred in the blockbuster "Back to the Future" movies and the TV series "Family Ties." He now spends much of his time on behalf of Parkinson's and supports stem cell research as a way to help find a cure.
In the run-up to the November 7 elections, Fox taped ads for Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Claire McCaskill of Missouri and Benjamin Cardin of Maryland, as well as Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle, all of whom back stem cell research. Fox was appearing across the country with other candidates, including Democratic Senate candidate James Webb next week in Virginia.
The races are among the most closely watched in next month's election as Democrats try to take the congressional majority from Republicans.
"They say all politics is local, but it's not always the case," Fox says in the ad for McCaskill, his shoulders jerking and his body swaying uncontrollably. "What you do in Missouri matters to millions of Americans, Americans like me."
Polls show Missouri voters backing 2-to-1 what would be the first state constitutional amendment to protect embryonic stem-cell research and treatments from legislative restrictions, as long as they are permitted under federal law.
OPPONENTS
Opponents of the measure include the Roman Catholic Church and anti-abortion groups who say it immorally encourages human cloning as well as the unnecessary destruction of life.
After the ads began airing, nationally syndicated conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh said Fox was allowing his illness to be exploited and accused him of acting in the ad or not taking his medication in order to shake so much.
"All I'm saying is I've never seen him the way he appears in this commercial for Claire McCaskill," Limbaugh said on his syndicated radio show. "I will apologize to Michael J. Fox, if I am wrong in characterizing his behavior on this commercial as an act."
Rogers, vice chair of an advocacy group called the Parkinson's Action Network, said Fox was so astounded by the criticism leveled by Limbaugh that his first reaction was to ask, "He said what?"
Limbaugh later issued a qualified apology and said Fox was raising false hopes by implying that a vote for McCaskill could lead to a cure for Parkinson's. The progressive, incurable disease affects 1 percent of Americans over the age of 65 and is marked by the destruction of brain cells that produce dopamine, which is key to movement.
The talk show host's comments sparked criticism from some listeners and lawmakers. "Ridiculing Mr. Fox's symptoms does not bring us any closer to curing Parkinson's disease, but supporting stem cell research would," said Rep. Carolyn Maloney (news, bio, voting record), a New York Democrat and co-founder of the Congressional Working Group on Parkinson's disease. President George W. Bush has limited federal funding for research on embryonic stem cells and issued his first-ever veto against legislation to expand it.