SYDNEY -- Like a newborn baby, it's a miracle. At least, that's what cynics are calling Australia's political approval of state-supervised destruction of human embryos for stem-cell research.
Bypassing the political minefield of Australia's federal system and conflicting pressure from religious groups, federal, state and territory governments agreed to a national framework for groundbreaking research into human embryo cells by the end of this year.
Ethical qualms aside, the agreement is a miracle in itself. For the first time since recent state elections, Canberra's conservative Howard government lined up against eight Labor Party-led regional governments.