Another group that has lobbied against embryonic research is the Australian Family Association.

AFA national vice president Bill Muehlenberg said Friday many of those advocating the controversial research were motivated by the promise of financial gain.

"Science has given way to other agendas of Big Biotech, and many political leaders are being duped in the process," he said.

"It is time for real science to set the agenda, not the profit-driven motives of Big Biotech and the pharmaceuticals."

Both Muehlenberg and Abboud argued that while the ability of adult stem cells to treat diseases was repeatedly being tested and proven, the potential of embryonic cells to do likewise remained unknown.

The AFA sees the way the debate has gone in Australia as a sign of the decline of ethics in Western societies.

"When we fought the battle on IVF two decades ago, we warned that this was the thin edge of the wedge," Muehlenberg said. "It seems that we have not seen the last of the moral erosion enfolding before our eyes."

Experimentation on Embryos to Continue Despite 'Adult' Stem Cell Breakthrough in Australia

CNSNews.com