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JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Quick, name the most costly, controversial issue before Missouri voters this fall.

The answer: stem cell research.

More precisely, proposed Constitutional Amendment 2, which would guarantee that any federally allowed stem cell research and therapy can occur in Missouri, including on human embryos.

By early summer, supporters already had raised more than $16 million. Opponents, though trailing significantly in their finances, have been trying to rally the religious against it.

The impassioned contest is cast as crucial to life itself - for the sick, disabled and unborn.

But for all the money and emotion, a question remains: What does this amendment really do?

The answer: perhaps not much.

Should it pass, the amendment would reaffirm the status quo, in which all federally allowed stem cell research already is permissible in Missouri.

Should it fail, the result also would be the status quo, with little immediate likelihood that embryonic stem cell research would be banned in Missouri.

The amendment, proposed by the Missouri Coalition for Lifesaving Cures, arose as a reaction to a legislative attempt last year...