The stem cell research proposal on the ballot in Michigan is quite moderate: It would allow stem cell lines to be drawn only from frozen embryos that would otherwise be discarded, and whose donors agreed the embryos could be used for that purpose. But Christian right opponents, calling themselves MiCAUSE (Michigan Citizens Against Unrestricted Science and Experimentation), are running a truly misleading TV ad. Watch below. The commercial makes it totally unclear whether voting “no” on Proposal 2 would limit or expand stem cell research. As the Detroit News notes today, when voters are confused by ballot language, they tend to vote “no.” That could be why Proposal 2 looks more and more likely to be defeated.

Check out how straight-forward the “yes” ad is.

Previous ballot initiative ad features: Gay marriage in Arizona and Florida – North Dakota abortion ban – Colorado “right to work” – Colorado’s “personhood” amendment – California’s anti-gay marriage amendment

—Dana Goldstein

Dana Goldstein, a former associate editor and writer at the Prospect, comes from a family of public-school educators. She received the Spencer Fellowship in Education Journalism, a Schwarz Fellowship at the New America Foundation, and a Puffin Foundation Writing Fellowship at the Nation Institute. Her journalism is regularly featured in Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The Daily Beast, and other publications, and she is a staff writer at the Marshall Project.