http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/05/opinion/gene-therapy-in-embryos.html 2016-10-04 19:58:47 Gene Therapy in Embryos A bioethicist says research on a controversial procedure should be permitted with proper monitoring. === To the Editor: “ The unfortunate ban on research on this procedure in the United States stems not only from the label (“three-parent babies”), but also from fears of potential long-term adverse effects, and of opening a Pandora’s box of altering genes in embryos. These ethical concerns and complexities are more than just linguistic and need to be acknowledged. They can, however, be effectively addressed. The considerable health benefits to patients can potentially outweigh these risks, as long as this technology is used carefully, in controlled ways, with close, continuing monitoring. Recognizing and addressing these ethical issues will be the best way of allowing research to proceed that may benefit innumerable patients. ROBERT KLITZMAN New York The writer is director of the master’s of bioethics program at Columbia University and author of “The Ethics Police?: The Struggle to Make Human Research Safe.”