In the excerpt the author mentions everything that Henrietta has done for science and society and how important her cells were and are. Henrietta, however, never knew this. The time period that she lived in has a major effect on how Henrietta’s life unfolds. During the 1950’s (when the cancer first appeared) segregation was still the law and the feminist movement had not taken place yet, which caused people to not see Henrietta as a person, but instead a “stereotypical” young black woman. It was common place to take samples from females patients without their consent, especially black patients partly because there was virtually no respect for black people or women in that time period.
When Henrietta was explaining her pain to her cousins she …show more content…
One way is evident in the study of medicine by white doctors. Healthy black women had their uteruses removed simply so doctors could practice the procedure and stop black people from reproducing. The reason that the doctors tried to prevent black women from reproducing was the same reason for white flight, black people were viewed as unclean and less than, therefore most white people did not want to be around them or have more of them in their city or town. It is important to approach history with an objective point of view because with every century society evolves more, and this was a less evolved time period. One must look at the progression from then to now, even though mistreatment of any kind is unacceptable, change has taken place. This approach, however, is very difficult due to human compassion. When one sees the innocent suffer they want to help or sympathize.
Throughout The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks there are several instances of unethical behavior. The most notable instance was the removal of patient’s cells without their knowledge or permission. When Henrietta died, the doctors still did not reveal to her husband that they had been using her cells. The doctors, in fact, actually coerced Day into allowing Henrietta to undergo an autopsy without giving him the full details of why they wanted to perform the …show more content…
The cells are part of an actual human being with a family. The excerpt shows that family also meant a lot to Henrietta and she meant a lot to her family members making the handling of her cells even more disrespectful. Bobbette stated she would have “killed him [Dr. Gey]” herself because she was so distraught about the situation (Skloot 124). The family was appalled by the disregard that Dr. Gey had for a human being, even though he was unethical with both the family and
When Henrietta was explaining her pain to her cousins she …show more content…
One way is evident in the study of medicine by white doctors. Healthy black women had their uteruses removed simply so doctors could practice the procedure and stop black people from reproducing. The reason that the doctors tried to prevent black women from reproducing was the same reason for white flight, black people were viewed as unclean and less than, therefore most white people did not want to be around them or have more of them in their city or town. It is important to approach history with an objective point of view because with every century society evolves more, and this was a less evolved time period. One must look at the progression from then to now, even though mistreatment of any kind is unacceptable, change has taken place. This approach, however, is very difficult due to human compassion. When one sees the innocent suffer they want to help or sympathize.
Throughout The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks there are several instances of unethical behavior. The most notable instance was the removal of patient’s cells without their knowledge or permission. When Henrietta died, the doctors still did not reveal to her husband that they had been using her cells. The doctors, in fact, actually coerced Day into allowing Henrietta to undergo an autopsy without giving him the full details of why they wanted to perform the …show more content…
The cells are part of an actual human being with a family. The excerpt shows that family also meant a lot to Henrietta and she meant a lot to her family members making the handling of her cells even more disrespectful. Bobbette stated she would have “killed him [Dr. Gey]” herself because she was so distraught about the situation (Skloot 124). The family was appalled by the disregard that Dr. Gey had for a human being, even though he was unethical with both the family and