7-13-2005
Quadriplegic Indy Car Owner Urges Senate, President
Sam Schmidt encourages positive vote, Presidential signature on stem cell research bill
To view the Sam Schmidt "Driver Diary" cut and paste the following link to your browser, or read below.....
http://www.kare11.com/sports/nascar/nascar-article.aspx?&storyid;=102313
THE U.S. SENATE IS EXPECTED TO TAKE UP A BILL EXPANDING PUBLIC FUNDING FOR EMBRYONIC STEM CELL RESEARCH WITHIN THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, A BILL PASSED SEVERAL WEEKS AGO BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. THE BILL EXTENDS FUNDING TO RESEARCH ON EMBRYONIC STEM CELL LINES THAT WERE NOT IN EXISTENCE IN 2001, WHEN AN EXECUTIVE ORDER LIMITING SUCH RESEARCH WAS ISSUED.
FOLLOWING PASSAGE BY THE SENATE, THE BILL WOULD MOVE TO THE WHITE HOUSE FOR SIGNATURE OR VETO BY PRESIDENT GEORGE BUSH.
SAM SCHMIDT OF LAS VEGAS, NEV., IS FOUNDER OF THE SAM SCHMIDT PARALYSIS FOUNDATION (www.samschmidt.org), WHICH HELPS INDIVIDUALS OVERCOME SPINAL CORD INJURIES AND OTHER NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS BY FUNDING SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH, MEDICAL TREATMENT, REHABILITATION AND TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES. THIS RESEARCH ALSO BENEFITS STROKE VICTIMS AND PEOPLE DIAGNOSED WITH ALS, ALZHEIMER’S, AND PARKINSON’S DISEASES. SSPF ALSO ADDRESSES QUALITY OF LIFE ISSUES BENEFITTING PEOPLE WITH PARALYSIS AND OTHER DISABILITIES THROUGH ITS DAY AT THE RACES PROGRAMS AND WORKS TIRELESSLY PROMOTING ADVOCACY CONCERNS.
SCHMIDT, 40, WAS INJURED DURING A CRASH IN TESTING AT ORLANDO, FLA., IN JANUARY, 2000. A WINNING DRIVER ON THE IRL CIRCUIT, SCHMIDT FORMED SAM SCHMIDT MOTORSPORTS, WHICH FIELDED THE #70 ENTRY OF DRIVER RICHIE HEARN IN THIS YEAR’S INDIANAPOLIS 500. HE ALSO OWNS THREE FULL-TIME ENTRIES IN THE MENARDS INFINITI PRO SERIES, WHICH NEXT RUNS AT THE 1.5-MILE NASHVILLE (Tenn.) SUPERSPEEDWAY THIS WEEKEND. THE TEAM DOMINATED THE 2004 SERIES CHAMPIONSHIP WITH NINE POLES AND SIX VICTORIES.
THE THOUGHTS OF SAM SCHMIDT:
“The political process can be a whole lot like racing. One week you are winning and on top of the world, and the next week you are wondering what the heck is going on.
“My hopes are we’re winning right now. The Senate is going to vote here in the next week or so, and we are encouraging every member to support public funding for embryonic stem cell research. This is too important and too vital an issue for millions of people throughout our country and throughout the world to do anything less.
“This country leads the world in virtually every positive area of human existence, and has been at the forefront of helping others almost from the day of our founding. We need to continue as a world leader because we do have the best and the brightest in our research facilities; we should support their work. Obviously, as someone who spends every single day taking two hours just to get dressed in the morning and someone who spends the day in a motorized chair, I’m going to be wholeheartedly behind the necessary research to assist the thousands of people worldwide with spinal cord injuries . . .and the thousands more with Parkinson’s disease . . . and the thousands more with Alzheimer’s . . . and the millions more who would be helped through this research.
“Frankly, if there were 60 Senators in wheelchairs, this bill would not only pass overwhelmingly, it would be veto proof. I have a pretty good life – a loving family, lots of supportive friends, good insurance, race teams, and on and on. But 60 Senators spending two days with me would bring overwhelming support to public funding of embryonic stem cell research.
“Several individual states publicly fund research and there is some private funding as well, validating the necessity and opportunity for success. But the bulk of medical and scientific research dollars are in the hands of the U.S. federal government. The government makes the determination as to how those dollars are spent, and with the potential for so many different life-altering and life-threatening conditions to be changed through this research, it makes little sense for the money to be spent anywhere else.
“There has been progress made through adult stem cell research; I don’t believe anyone questions that. I’ve met with people who have been to Portugal, for example, and had some very successful adult stem cell transfer procedures done. Still, every day I sit in this (wheel) chair is just another day to face a ton of challenges where there could be some parallel research being done at the same time. I have to agree with many of the scientists here in the United States who say the real long term and the big picture promise will be with the embryonic stem cell type.
“I don’t disagree that a major part of the progress so far as been made with adult stem cell research but that’s only because we haven’t committed any resources or been allowed to explore the embryonic side of things. We've been told by some of these bills that have been proposed that if we even touch the stuff, we're going to . . . well, they threaten prison.
“There are a tremendous amount of incredibly intelligent people in this country who are dying to go at this at a very fast pace, like the South Koreans have been doing and several other countries outside the U.S. They've just been sitting there ready to go, but they haven't been given the resources and haven't been given the opportunity to do it because it has been so controversial over the last four or five years.
“I can understand some of the feelings in regards to this as a religious issue. I’m very strong in my own faith and, quite frankly, this has been a huge personal challenge for me and for my family in evaluating embryonic stem cell research.
“Still, it doesn’t have to be controversial, except for those with absolutely no tolerance for any other viewpoint. The ‘slippery slope’ argument simply doesn’t hold water; in fact, if it did, that would be a reason to avoid anyone ever doing anything. There are several forms of somatic cell nuclear transfer – a mouthful, sure, but that type of embryonic stem cell research is wide open and it’s something I can get my arms around and agree with the ethical side of it, simply because it does not implant it in the womb. It’s not something created by a fertilization technique. Yet, many would prefer keeping it illegal.
“We were all encouraged by the vote a few weeks ago in the U.S. House of Representatives, and we are really hoping the Senate will pass the bill as well. We encourage President Bush to recognize its importance to so many people and sign it into law. This is a huge step forward for medical research in this country, and I recognize the importance placed upon this issue by the American population. Our hopes are the members of the Senate will look at the vital importance of this bill and will pass it as well, and we call upon President Bush to do the same and to sign it.”
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Williams Company of America, Inc. (704) 660-0796
PLEASE CONTACT US FOR INTERVIEWS WITH SAM SCHMIDT IN REGARDS TO THE SENATE VOTING, AND WHITE HOUSE REACTION. |
