Pacific Rim Bureau (CNSNews.com) - A fortnight ahead of a meeting between Australian leaders to thrash out a national policy on stem cell research, lobbying on both sides of the scientific and ethical debate has become intense.

Prime Minister John Howard will meet with the premiers of Australia's six states and two territories on April 5, to discuss national regulations for the use of human embryos in research that scientists hope will lead to cures for degenerative diseases.

Recent information leaks suggest that the federal cabinet is leaning in the direction of banning experimentation on human embryos left over from in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment.

The campaign to bar the research is spearheaded by Kevin Andrews, the Minister for Aging (responsible for issues affecting the elderly. Andrews is a Roman Catholic with strong pro-life views.

The news has alarmed scientists who support embryonic stem cell research. The premiers of two states, New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland, have indicated they will go it alone if the federal government decides on a ban.

Three other states, Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia, have already legislated against destructive research using spare IVF embryos.

Many pro-lifers oppose the use of early-stage embryos in a process that destroys them. They argue that adult stem cells, from sources like umbilical cords or bone marrow, offer a promising alternative to the embryonic variety, but without the ethical concerns.

Concerned that the highly contentious issue could cause a split along religious lines among its lawmakers, the official opposition Labor Party has already agreed to allow them a conscience vote.

Howard's Liberal Party has yet to announce whether it will also do so, but Liberal lawmakers this week urged the party leadership to allow a conscience vote as well.

Members of the scientific and medical community, who say stem cells harvested from embryos could be used to treat diseases like diabetes and Alzheimer's, are urging the government not to outlaw the research.

A ban would result in an exodus of researchers to more amenable countries, and would jeopardize Australia's reputation as a leader in reproductive technologies, they argue.

"Even those who believe that life begins at fertilization must really think very carefully about the greater good of the vast percentage of the population that have diseases like diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, kidney disease and heart disease," Australian Medical Association (AMA) vice-president Dr. Trevor Mudge said.

"The potential for this research is truly enormous," he added, urging the government not to ban it.

Also weighing in are organizations representing those suffering from some of those diseases. The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation recently launched a campaign in favor of research using stem cells both from spare IVF embryos and from embryos cloned in a lab.

The Motor Neurone Disease Association has also urged support for the research.

As politicians examine their conscience on the use of embryos, they should also examine their consciences on the issue of denying the victims of debilitating diseases the chance of a cure, said the association's chairman in NSW, Dr. Robert Marr.

Just this week it was announced that some of Australia's leading adult stem cell researchers have made a breakthrough that they hope could lead to an eventual cure for motor neurone disease (also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease).

The Melbourne-based researchers said they had managed to isolate a stem cell in the brain which continues to give rise to new nerve cells. Although a cure may still be years away, said researcher Dr. Rod Rietze, the discovery was "a major breakthrough."

Churches divided

The stem cell debate is also threatening to divide church denominations. The Catholic Church -- which opposes the destruction of human embryos for any reason, including IVF -- wants the government to pursue research into adult stem cells.

But divisions have emerged in the Anglican Church. Peter Jensen, archbishop of Australia's largest city, Sydney, heads a group of a dozen Anglican bishops supporting the Catholic stand.

"We are against the destruction of embryonic life in order to extract stem cells, particularly when there are perfectly ethical means of extracting the necessary cells from umbilical cord blood in newborns, and from the brain and bone marrow in adults," they said in a statement.

The bishops also cautioned against over-optimism in the scientific community.

"The cost of human life in embryonic stem cell research can never be justified. There is no certainty that the sacrifice of embryos will lead to the cures for which we long, of diseases that debilitate the lives of many people. Scientists, in promoting their research, must be careful not to give exaggerated grounds for hope to those who are suffering."

But elsewhere in the Anglican Church, differing views have emerged.

The church's primate in Australia, Peter Carnley, said he disagrees with what he called a mid- century assumption that conception and fertilization take place simultaneously.

Asserting that conception is a 14-day process, he said that experimentation with a several days' old embryo was not therefore dealing with a conceived life.

Before the government's final position on the matter is finalized, Prime Minister Howard says he will consult with leading Australian scientists.