A simple question i cannot answer. is Christopher Reeves death a serious blow to the stem-cell research campaign, or is he a martyr of sorts?
granted his death is huge loss, and not to sound harsh, but can he be a bigger voice for the cause in death?
His name is Reeve. No “s.”
I don’t see how you can call him a martyr; he wasn’t assassinated by the opponents of stem-cell research.
And I don’t see how his death can take away from the clamor for stem cell research. It can only bring more attention.
IMHO he could only be considered a matyr in the most convoluted sense. Those with paralysis from a spinal cord injury typically have a shorter life span due to various complications and stress.
I rather imagine that most who support total federal funding of all stem cell research do so either because they or a friend or relative have a disease that could be affected by the issue, or fear that such a thing will happen in the future. I doubt that celebrity campaigners have that much to do with it.
But celebrities that have such health problems remind everyone that it can happen to anyone, and many of those so reminded will act out of “fear that such a thing will happen in the future.”
Christopher Reeve’s death has certainly spiked the attention given to the issue. However, the spike will die down in a short time. His continued work to draw attention to the issue would have done more, over the long run, had he remained alive.