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Why Is Henrietta Lacks Unethical

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I first heard about Henrietta Lacks story after noticing and advertisement of Oprah Winfrey directing or possibly playing the role of Ms. Lacks. Reading the caption underneath the picture posted I decided to inquire more about the Henrietta Lacks. Ms. Lacks was an African American woman who found out in 1951 after a biopsy, Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The manifestation of the tumor was unlike anything that had ever been seen by the examining gynecologist Dr. Howard Jones. Henrietta Lacks was treated at the segregated John Hopkins Hospital with radium tube inserted and sewn into her body, a standard treatment at that time sewn in her body. However, a few days after doctors removed the tubes and performed an X-Ray exam. The doctors, took two samples, a noncancerous and a cancerous part of her cervix without her permission. These cells would ultimately develop into the HeLa immortal cell line, a universally used cell line in biomedical research. My immediate reaction to the ethical issue with Henrietta Lacks cell taken without her permission disturbed me because I felt if she was a White woman doctors would have asked for permission and would have given credit …show more content…

Many Supreme Court precedent cases have assisted in the battle for civil right for people of color. Therefore, the attempt to harvest someone cells without permission is less likely to happen now unless persons live in a third war country which human rights is an irrelevant concern or issue. Henrietta Lacks’ story violates and impact research today because her treatment desecrated her individual rights since she was a woman of color. The effects of Henrietta Lacks’ mistreatment makes me question society views on “black lives matter” if we’re not violating people of color on a slab table were currently mistreating them within the criminal justice

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252 Words | 2 Pages

I presume that it would be ethically correct to provide a compensation to Henrietta Lacks descendants. I am aware that Henrietta Lacks cells enabled scientist to encounter new discoveries such as the polio vaccine and other. However, the benefits of her cells does not outweigh the fact that Lacks family deserved some sort of compensation. It would be ethically correct because the financial reward could have accommodated the needs of her family. In the article “Family of Henrietta Lacks gains some control” states, “When scientists and doctors crave the key to the genetic code that unlocked treatments and vaccines, two family members will have a seat at the table where the decisions are made” (Curtis).

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Would people in 1951 feel any different if they knew black people could produce lifesaving cures with technology? Henrietta Lacks was a black woman that got cervical cancer and went to Hopkins hospital because it was the closest segregated hospital around. While Henrietta was as Hopkins, they were doing tests and during that process, Dr. Gey took Henrietta’s cells without her consent. Henrietta was diagnosed with Cervical cancer doctors took samples without her consent. She had five kids and died at Hopkins hospital on October 4, 1951 being only 31 years old.

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Participation Portfolio 1 Asst 3: Henrietta Lacks Discussion Questions   Please answers each of the following questions, and be prepared to discuss in class   1. Please outline the history of Henrietta Lacks 's tissue cells. Who did what with the cells, when, where and for what purpose? Who benefited, scientifically, medically, and monetarily?

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239 Words | 1 Pages

Henrietta Lacks was a black tobacco farmer from the south who, in 1950, at the age of 30, she was diagnosed with aggressive cervical cancer. Lacks went to John’s Hopkins medical center for treatment for her cancer. In April of 1951, she underwent surgery to remove the larger tumor on her cervix. Henrietta Lacks, died three days following the surgery. Even though Henrietta Lacks died, her cells from the tumor have lived on and have made a major impact on the biomedical community.

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Despite the wrongdoings Henrietta Lacks was put through her cells did a lot to help advance science. Her cells helped develop different types of vaccines, which such as her daughter faced. A lot of good and bad came out of Henrietta’s

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Abuse in Henrietta Lacks In 1951 a woman by the name of Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with carcinoma of the cervix, little did she know that her cells were immortal. Many advances have occurred because of them such as, the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping and many more. No one, at the time, could have thought that this could come from a poor black tobacco farmer. The hardships of the families are discussed in the book as well.

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In 1951, at the age of 31 Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Henrietta was under treatment at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, where cells from her malignant tumor were removed. Neither Henrietta nor any of her family members knew about the tissue sample and nor did the Hopkins ever informed them of the situation. Unfortunately after Henrietta’s radiation treatment, her condition continued to worsen and soon she lost her battle to cancer on octomber 4th 1951. Henriettas cells left the Hopkins what they discovered to be known to be the first immortal human cell line.

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474 Words | 2 Pages

The seemingly endless battle for civil rights was one fought long and hard and during the 20th century a time of fruition occurred that allowed for concrete and tangible progress though the efforts of many, including key black intellectual revolutionaries. The call to freedom, and the fight for civil liberties to be bestowed upon people of color, who for hundreds of years were perceived as subordinate was happening. Change was fought through self-determination, and a burgeoning of powerful ideologies that laid the foundation for movement to be made. The admirable actions of women have been slighted, as they are almost non-existent in the pages of our history books. The contributions of the civil right movement have many a time excluded the contributions of prominent African American woman who tirelessly fought.

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Racism in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Imagine your mother, sister, wife, or cousin was diagnosed with cervical cancer and you believed the doctors were doing everything in their power to help her. Only later you discovered her cells were used for research without consent and she was not properly informed of the risks of her treatment due to her race. This story happened and is told by Rebecca Skloot in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Skloot use of narrative and her writing style enhances the understanding of the story. Henrietta Lacks was a young black woman who was diagnosed with cervical cancer at John Hopkins Hospital.

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The origination of HeLa cells, used in biomedical research for a potential cure for cancer, had made many ground breaking discoveries in science; all thanks to one woman, Mrs. Henrietta Lacks. The history of Mrs. Lacks’s contribution to these studies raised many ethical issues concerning healthcare practice. In the short film, The Way of All Flesh, we learn how these cells were revealed by direct violation of ethical principles. During the 1950s, matters regarding informed consent practices were in their beginning stages of implementation.

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989 Words | 4 Pages

Bushra Pirzada Professor Swann Engh-302 October 4th 2015 Rhetorical Analysis: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot tells the story of a woman named Henrietta Lacks who has her cervical cancer. It further goes to tell the audience how Henrietta altered medicine unknowingly. Henrietta Lacks was initially diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951; however, the doctors at John Hopkins took sample tissues from her cervix without her permission. The sample tissues taken from Henrietta’s cervix were used to conduct scientific research as well as to develop vaccines in the suture.

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One of the most fundamental trust relationships is between a patient and their doctor. Physicians have supposedly earned their trustworthy title because of their extended education and desire to help others. However, this perception is being shattered by physicians violating patients’ trust by not providing all the information needed for making a responsible decision for a person’s health and performing unimaginable procedures. “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” provides multiple examples of the unethical practice of doctors. When scientists do not recognize their subjects as human beings and their relationship results in an unbalanced power dynamic, their advantageous position often leads to the unethical treatments of subjects, especially

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774 Words | 4 Pages

The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot examines the life of a young African American woman with cervical cancer named Henrietta Lacks. When Lacks goes in for her cancer treatments, cells are taken from her tumor without her knowledge. These cells, known as HeLa cells, go on to become an essential advancement in the medical world. Despite the important developments made because of HeLa cells, Lacks receives very little recognition for her cells. For this reason, Skloot dedicates over a decade to researching and telling the story of Lacks, her family, and the HeLa cells.

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440 Words | 2 Pages

Deborah states, "Truth be told, I can 't get mad at science because it help people live, and I 'd be a mess without it. I 'm a walking drugstore! I can 't say nuthin bad about science, but I won 't lie, I would like some health insurance so I don 't got to pay all that money every month for drugs my mother cells probably helped make". This explains how Deborah has to spend all her money on not even all her medication because she can 't even afford health insurance that will cover her medicine. African Americans who were

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911 Words | 4 Pages

By removing her name, Henrietta Lacks was dehumanized by the scientific community. Henrietta’s cells were taken from her unethically without permission. When the initials HeLa were assigned to her cells, Henrietta was not given the recognition or respect that was so rightfully deserved to her. It took George Otto Gey’s assistant, Mary Kubicek seeing Henrietta’s dead body lying on a metal table in the “colored freezer” of John Hopkins hospital to realize that she was indeed a real person, who had once carried out all of the necessary functions for life, just as she herself

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