Henrietta Lacks Ethics

Dr. Gey's use of Henrietta Lacks cervical tissue was unethical and disrespectful to the patient. His wicked nature stole her cells without consent used the cells to make some of the most astonishing research. This immortal act of Dr. Gey, was wrong, regardless of his curiosity. Even though, he was the head of tissue culture at John Hopkins and that was his main focus, taking her cells without permission and use them to make millions of dollars displayed an improper and unprofessional behavior. Dr. Gey vindictive actions lead him to discover the immortal cells, one of the most prestigious uncovering in science. Still today, the HeLa cells are used for research and over time, the cells have traveled nearly all over the world. The further use of these cells for research is immoral due to how Henrietta cells were obtained. Her race, gender, socioeconomically status indirectly caused her to be taken advantage of. According to the, “Ethical Principles- The Belmont Report”,

“Informed consent is one of the primary ethical requirements underpinning research with human subjects…” (The Belmont Report). …show more content…
Gey certainly snatched the cells from Henrietta without her consent therefore violating one of the three ethical principles. The principles listed in this report, should have and should be always be followed and abided by. Another horrendous aspect of this issue, is that Henrietta`s family received no profit from her cells. Since the cells are Henrietta Lacks, her family should certainty receive profits from the results of the He-La cells. Those cells are within the family and it would only be fair to the, if some earnings given to them. Not only was she disrespected when her cells were stolen from her, but the publication company got her name wrong, and Gey still wanted to hid her name. He did not want people to know what he had done. The whole case of the He-La cells was scandalous but resulted to great