Cooperation And Conflict In The Henrietta Lacks Story

The injustice faced by Henrietta Lacks and others have from DNA and companies making money, yet some benefits came out of this such as the HeLa line which is used for various reasons now. Laws have been changing protecting such things yet it seems as it still goes on and henrietta wasn't the only one. Henrietta Lacks a name forgotten in science, yet might be the most important women in research and science. In 1951 she was diagnosed with terminal cervical cancer and doctors that time were known for experimenting on “negros”. Henrietta lacks was sentenced to death with that cancer, yet her cancer had cells were found to be immortal.

Henrietta Lacks decision to seek care for her cervical cancer unknowingly designated her as arguably the single greatest contribution to science and medicine. After the realization that human cells had finally been successfully harvested and reproduced, Dr. Gey immediately distributed the cells and his methodology to anyone who asked. As the explosion of research on HeLa cells swept across the scientific community many of Dr. Gey's colleagues urged him to publish or patent cells to take credit for his for work but his dedication to the work rather than the credit prevented him from doing much publishing if any at all. The implica... ... middle of paper ... ...through society and enacting that awareness as a vehicle for change we are left to repeat these same injustices. Henrietta's cells gave society the ability to cure diseases, fight cancer, vaccinate children, and by leaps and bounds further our knowledge of biology at large.

HeLa cells were one of the greatest medical inventions that came about for the scientific field and yet the woman behind this medical feat is not fully remembered and honored. Her cells and tissue were taken away from her without consent and more than that, she was exploited for being black and not questioning what the doctor was doing. Her family suffered through countless years of agonizing pain in which they were misinformed about where and what her cells were being used for. Yes, HeLa cells changed the way we view medicine today, but only at the cost of creating one of the greatest controversies of owning ones body. Works Cited Skloot, Rebecca.

So far, all of the samples Mary Kubicek tried to grow had died. She was handed Henriet... ... middle of paper ... ... when “HPV inserted its DNA into the long arm of her eleventh chromosome and essentially turned off her P53 tumor suppressor gene” (Skloot 213). This allows the cancer cells to produce monstrously virulent cells, making them hard to kill. After sixty years HeLa cells are still one of the most popular cells in the world. They were not voluntarily taken, but they have been one of the biggest contributions to society.

Finding Morality in Immortality: a Racial Discourse Analysis Henrietta Lacks, better known as HeLa to many, revolutionized the world of medicine without having an even basic understanding of science. While still being treated for cervical cancer in 1951, she was told by the head of tissue-culture research, George Gey, “your cells will make you immortal,” and in a way he absolutely was right. However, it was not Henrietta that would become immortal, rather HeLa and the legacy those cells would create. Social capital, as explained by Pierre Bourdieu, is “the sum of resources...that accrue to an individual or a group by virtue of possessing a durable network of...institutionalized relationships of mutual acquaintance and recognition.” (Bourdieu,

As I looked up recent articles about the HeLa cells I find that her cells still exist today and are being used for genome sequencing (Nature.com). Doctors are using the same cells from over 50 years ago to better our medicine and medical advances. I wonder what Henrietta thinks of all this. It is an amazing thing in the long run because of what we discovered, but it is truly a terrible thing because it was done without consent and she had no choice. This also caused a lot of pain for her family and if only this could have been done on someone who consented and agreed, maybe it would not be such a negative event in history.

The book Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot is indeed an inspiring story that affects many lives both directly and indirectly. It brings tears to my eyes each time I read this book. This is a broad scope of concept that reveals the dilemma of medical practices with respect to ethical and cultural sensitivity. It got me thinking with a whole new thoughts and questions that remained unanswered. However, it has changed my philosophy of practice to see each individual as a new book to explore in other words treat every person as an individual with different background and upbringing not to treat just the disease.

The doctors did not explain this to the poorly educated Lackses, who thought they were being tested for cancer. This miscommunication caused Henrietta’s family to panic, for they thought they were going to die just like Henrietta. On the other hand, on the national level, HeLa cells served as a platform for research about many diseases, including cancer and polio. The cells progressed the scientific research on genetics and diseases further than ever thought

The HeLa cells were a crucial tool in modern medicine as they were vital in developing the polio vaccine, cloning, and gene mapping, as well as studying several viruses. A Utilitarian, being exclusively focused on consequences would view that the ethical breach in regards to Henrietta Lacks as necessary. Ethics of Care however, would view the doctors’ actions as unethical because feminist ethics prioritizes personal relationships and moral responsibility. Ethics of care emphasizes on caring for others but Lacks’ doctors were only thinking of themselves and trying to revolutionize medicine that they horribly mistreated her which was largely due to her race. So, in the perspective of Feminist ethics, the doctors’ exploitation and the overall garnering of HeLa cells was an immense ethical breach.

These people suffered from so much injustice, why did no one made a small effort to explain it to them all? Reading about the health problems The story of the Lackes really visualizes the problems in science before, and the need to resolve them. In the end, the most important lesson learnt is that human tissue used for research shouldn’t be used in such a materialistic way, but it should be handled with in a respectful and ethical way. Rebecca Skloot has done a marvelous job telling the story of Henrietta Lacks; the woman who changed science!