THE WORDS “somatic cell nuclear transfer” don’t slide gracefully off the tongue. Nor do they trigger a visceral response the way, for example, the word “cloning” does. That helps explain why Missouri’s Amendment 2 has prompted so much confusion and bitter acrimony.

Supported by a robust phalanx of public figures–including scientists, Democrats, Republican governor Matt Blunt, former GOP senator Jack Danforth, and one especially wealthy couple–the amendment purports to “ban human cloning or attempted cloning.” At least that’s what the ballot language says–the language Missourians will read in the voting booth on November 7th. But the text of Amendment 2 itself, which runs about 2,000 words, muddies the water.