The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
Throughout the Rebecca Skloot’s book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, she described her investigation into the life of Henrietta Lacks, her immortal cell line, the ethical violations surrounding her case, as well as the major contributions to modern medicine and research her case provided. During the time of Henrietta’s treatment, both medical and research ethics were quite different; many values such as autonomy, justice, and beneficence were not as enforced, and were applied differently throughout different institutions and individuals of different demographics. Though investigating her case and other important cases surrounding the use of HeLa cells, Skloot acknowledges the unethical circumstances which filled Henrietta’s case and …show more content…
Although I do feel that I am in some way biased from learning and practicing modern ethical principles, I can see the endless ways those surrounding her case took advantage of, violated, and disturbed the lives of both Henrietta and her family. However, for that time those ethical practices were normal for them; they thought were not explicitly hurting Henrietta by using her cells, and they were trying to use their research for good, unlike some research done by the Nazis for …show more content…
A point in the book that really made me recognize this was when Gey’s assistant was performing the sample collecting during Henrietta’s autopsy and she noticed Henrietta’s toenails and became ill remembering that she was a real human who meant something to many people: a wife, mother, sister, and friend. Another interesting observation from the piece is that many of the people working with and benefiting from Henrietta’s cells, did not even know the source of the cells: HeLa aka Henrietta Lacks. At some point in our lives most of us have benefited on some way from research only made possible by her cells, and I personally think that it is a shame that Henrietta’s case is not taught during primary education as I feel it is a crucial part of modern healthcare and history. It is crucial for patients to know their rights and know that they are protected in receiving care, therefore it is important that individuals have a common knowledge of
Henrietta Lacks Research Papers
460 Words | 2 PagesHenrietta Lacks was a poor black tobacco farmer,born in Roanoke, Virginia on August 1 ,1920.Henrietta’s mother died when Henrietta was very young, her dad did not wanted to take care of her and her siblings, so they were sent with different relatives. She grew up with her grandfather. Henrietta died at age of 31 years old of cervical cancer, on October 4, 1951. At the age of twenty-nine she felt a “knot” inside of her. In the year of 1950, she had a full-fledged tumor just three months after she had felt the knot.
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
520 Words | 3 PagesThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks overviews the story of a young black woman who dies a painful death duo to an aggressive invasive type of cervical cancer, something doctors were currently studying and developing way to combat it. Rebecca Skloot, the author, takes us to journey to see through the eyes of the Lacks family. Many would call what was done to them unfair, but as Skloot lets us know, this was common practice (and still is in many cases) during that time. The important thing was that the ignorance of who was responsible for the cells that we call “immortal,” the cells that have given us a “Rosetta stone” for medical research, is now diminish, this was especially important to the Lacks. The book focuses mainly on the story of Henrietta’s
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Analysis
612 Words | 3 PagesWhen Lacks went to the segregated section of John Hopkins Hospital for cancer treatment, doctors sliced away samples of both her malignant and healthy cervical tissue. Doctors at the hospital took Henrietta’s samples without her permission and used them on their quest to discover an immortal cell line, one that continuously reproduces and can be used for the steady cell supply for medical research. The first immortal cell line was unethically discovered in Henrietta’s cells. Henrietta Lacks was a beloved mother, wife, and friend. Her individual humanity should have been acknowledged and respected by those whom she had put her life in the hands of.
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
573 Words | 3 PagesThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a novel by Rebecca Skloot detailing the life of Henrietta Lacks and her family. In her 2010 narrative, Skloot explores the scientific discoveries made through the use of the so-called HeLa cells obtained from Henrietta in her final years, as well as the results of malpractice within segregated hospitals and the effects on the Lacks family. The importance of these topics was only amplified with each new advancement and each new onus transferred to the Lacks family. Consequently, strong held beliefs by both the scientific community and Henrietta’s ancestors clashed. The story of Henrietta Lacks began on a plantation in Virginia in 1920, but the most impactful years of her life came at the end of her time.
Skloot: The Immortal Life
295 Words | 2 PagesWhile the general terrain covered by Skloot has already been charted (by Washington and other journalists), the signal accomplishment of The Immortal Life is its excavation of hospital and medical records on Henrietta Lacks and its exhaustive interviews with her surviving family members. Skloot braids that compelling stream into a fluid accounting of the nascent history of cell research in America, creating in the end a riveting narrative that is wholly original. In short, we learn the stunning news that in 1951, Henrietta Lacks, a poor, undereducated 31-year-old black woman from a small Virginia outpost, unwittingly “donated” cancerous cells that eventually spawned a molecular cottage industry—and aided hundreds of breakthroughs in scientific
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
449 Words | 2 PagesJade Sherwin May 14th, 2018 Essay test Rebecca Skloot’s book “The immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” tells the story of Henrietta Lacks a young mother, a descendant of slaves, whose suffering changed the course of medical research and made life healthier for the rest of us. Henrietta was diagnosed with cancer in numerous ways the Lacks family’s right to privacy was violated. The Lacks family’s right to privacy was violated by people exposing the Lacks’s information “Newspapers and magazines “published articles about Henrietta , one of the pivotal figures in the crusade against cancer.”
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot
1150 Words | 5 PagesRobertson Davies, a Canadian novelist, once wrote, “The eye sees only what the mind is prepared to comprehend.” We have the power to decipher between the images before us and convince ourselves that what we are seeing is truly what we make it out to be. In Rebecca Skloot’s novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Skloot tells the story of a woman named Henrietta Lacks with immortal cells. Henrietta’s cells were used for science and stirred up turbulent debates between scientists, doctors, politicians, civilians, and others. The ethical backing to the research and testing done with HeLa cells, the abbreviation for Henrietta’s immortal cells, was, and in some ways still is, the main topic concerning Henrietta’s cells.
Henrietta Lacks Report
1288 Words | 6 PagesI read The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot for the first time in high school for a summer reading assignment I was rushing to complete the last week of summer break. Four years later, I chose to read this book again because I now have an interest in biochemistry, in particular a goal to study antiviral agents in the hopes of a Hepatitis B cure. This time around, I understood the significance this book had because it revealed details of the racist treatment of African Americas that are intertwined with the hidden truths and hypocritical acts of the medical system that unfortunately still exist. On October 4, 1951 Henrietta Lacks died from cervical cancer at the young age of 31.
Henrietta Lacks Research Papers
828 Words | 4 PagesHer cells have became immortal but Henrietta and her family never gave consent. Even her husband said no after her death! But the cells were taken before her death. If Henrietta Lacks was a white and upper class, the story of her
Henrietta Lacks Violation Of Autonomy At Johns Hopkins
1435 Words | 6 PagesHerded onto slave ships, forced into labor, and treated lower than animals, 12.5 million Africans were brought to the New World between 1525 and 1866 and became the foundation of the United States, a country now based on liberty and justice for all. Just because America is a beacon of hope and a symbol of equality in the 21st century, its roots in slavery are not morally justified by its current state. Similarly, Henrietta Lacks’ violation of autonomy at Johns Hopkins may have been accepted back then, but it does not make violating her autonomy any more morally correct. Despite the monumental advances in science that stemmed from Henrietta Lacks’ cancer cells, the violation of Henrietta’s autonomy and the hardships she and her family faced
Rhetorical Analysis: The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
989 Words | 4 PagesBushra 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.
Henrietta Lacks Thesis
1020 Words | 5 PagesThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks tells the story of Henrietta, an African-American woman whose cells were used to create the first immortal human cell line. Told through the eyes of her daughter, Deborah Lacks, aided by journalist Rebecca Skloot. Deborah wanted to learn about her mother, and to understand how the unauthorized harvesting of Lacks cancerous cells in 1951 led to unprecedented medical breakthroughs, changing countless lives and the face of medicine forever. It is a story of medical arrogance and triumph, race, poverty and deep friendship between the unlikeliest people. There had been many books published about Henrietta’s cells, but nothing about Henrietta’s personality, experiences, feeling, life style etc.
Racism In The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
743 Words | 3 PagesRacism 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.
Henrietta Lacks Without Her Consent Essay
663 Words | 3 PagesDespite 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
Henrietta Lacks And Ethics
462 Words | 2 PagesThe 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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