CANBERRA, Australia — Scientists will be allowed to create human embryo clones for medical research if the Australian government passes new laws that were debated yesterday and lifts a four-year ban.

The Australian lower house is debating a proposal to legalize the creation of human embryos through so-called somatic cell nuclear transfer to aid research into diseases including Parkinson’s and multiple sclerosis. The debate is expected to take four days, double the time the House of Representatives discussed the annual budget and Telstra Corp.’s privatization.

If approved, scientists could create embryos with the DNA of a person from stem cells using the same therapeutic cloning technology that produced Dolly the sheep and 10 other animals. Stem cells extracted from such an embryo would be genetically identical to the person donating the DNA, as would tissue such as neurons grown from its stem cells. The research has caused a stir because it could, in theory, lead to human clones.

“We have to allow people to look to science for answers to cure debilitating and fatal diseases,” Labor lawmaker Simon Crean told Parliament yesterday.

Lawmakers and interest groups are also divided on the ethics of creating embryos for research and then destroying them after their stem cells have been extracted.