Speaking in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on 11 October 2004, Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry paid tribute to Christopher Reeve hours after the actor's death, calling him "America's hero" and a personal friend.
Reeve had spent nine years paralyzed from the neck down after a riding competition in Virginia, where his horse threw him and fractured two cervical vertebrae, leaving him unable to breathe without a respirator. He had been best known for starring in four Superman films during the late 1970s and early 1980s.
After the accident, Reeve became one of the country's leading advocates for embryonic stem-cell research, arguing that it could eventually produce treatments for spinal injuries and related conditions. Kerry had cited him frequently on the campaign trail.
Kerry said Reeve had left him a voicemail the Saturday before he died, expressing enthusiasm about Kerry's choice to raise the stem-cell issue during a presidential debate the day before.
The question of federal funding divided the candidates: President Bush had limited support to existing stem-cell lines, while Kerry backed broader research programs.
Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in October 2004, in its own words.