A Newer Approach to Editing Embryos Ignites Debate

Fertility specialists, biotech companies and ethicists are divided over whether progress in early gene editing would wipe out diseases or trigger a rush toward enhancement.A colored light micrograph of a human embryo 48 to 72 hours after in vitro fertilization. “Human embryos become living human persons,” one bioethicist said. “The research is being done on future persons without their consent.”