October 23, 2004 - 4:00 AM

Actor Reeve shown in stem cell ad

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Less than two weeks after his sudden death, actor Christopher Reeve has begun
appearing in a taped appeal to Californians to vote for a controversial ballot measure that would fund a decade of stem
cell research.

Reeve filmed the ad shortly before his death on October 10, but proponents of California's Proposition 71 decided to
go forward with the campaign after consulting his family.

The ad began airing on Friday, one day after Dana Reeve, the widow of the paralysed actor, endorsed Democratic
presidential challenger John Kerry. Kerry has urged expanded federal funding for stem cell research.

"Stem cells have already cured paralysis in animals," Reeve says in the TV spot. "Stem cells are the future of
medicine. Please support Proposition 71 and stand up for those who can't."

Reeve, who was paralysed from the neck down in a 1995 horseback-riding accident, appears in the 30-second spot
just after a narrator says that "his family and his foundation wanted the people of California to see this recently
recorded message."

Opponents of the California measure claim the promise of embryonic stem cell research is overstated and that
channelling funds into it would divert money from more pressing needs, like the state's underfunded emergency care
systems.

Backers of Proposition 71, who include Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists, have already spent over
$27 million (14.8 million pounds) on a widespread TV ad campaign, which earlier featured actor Michael J. Fox, who
suffers from Parkinson's disease.

By contrast, the coalition against the measure, which includes the Catholic Church, have spent only $260,000, not
enough to air commercials in major markets like Los Angeles.

Recent polls show the measure is favored by a majority of California voters. Proponents hope passage would
establish the state as counterweight to federal policy.

President George W. Bush has restricted federal funding to research with existing lines of stem cells and opposes
the use of human embryos as a new source.

California's November 2 ballot proposal would create one of the largest pools of money for stem cell research in the
world, putting the state on par with Britain and Singapore, backers say.

Proposition 71 has been backed by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in a break with the Republican
party.