Henrietta Lacks Ethical Issues

300 Words2 Pages
The story of Henrietta Lacks involves an extreme violation of privacy. The book describes and discusses issues related to access of personal information from medical records, use of tissue samples, informed consent, and privacy invasion. These are issues that have raised debate, and are of concerns to me as a social worker. Other significant issues in this book relate to a lack of respect for Henrietta Lacks and her family, as well as justice, race, and social class. Being a social worker and reading this book made me so upset. One of the most obvious issues in this book is Henrietta did not give permission for doctors to take her cells. Her story is a prime example of the ethical tradeoffs the scientific community struggles with in pursuit