The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks Analysis

Legal, Moral, and Ethical Issues: Henrietta Lacks As cited in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks: A Reader’s Guide, Ms. Skloot chooses to write Herietta’s story by taking readers along with her in her reporting journey. I believe Skloot respects the power of emotion and the need to humanize all characters and scenes throughout the story to gain a better understanding of the ethical issue behind HeLa cells. Just as Skloot highlights many times throughout the story not only in relation to Henrietta but other patient as well, clinicians may often forget the person behind sampling and lab work. Therefore, if the reader is able to see the reactions of the Lacks’ family to others, including Skloot, he/she may be able to empathize more with the …show more content…
It is clear the Lacks family did not have much background knowledge of medicine and was also strong in their religious beliefs. The Lacks family portrays their religious beliefs through their reasoning for the creation of Henrietta’s immortal cells. They had believed this occurred so that Henrietta may continue helping people. In one scene, Deborah whispers to one of the vials that contained HeLa cells, showing her belief that Henrietta continues to live in the cells in spirit. Additionally, it seems their lack of knowledge of the subject of medicine as well as the possible lack of education given to them by clinicians, added to their anxiousness to both Henrietta’s case and even their own health and trust of clinicians. Skloot had introduced many instances throughout her report of miscommunication between clinicians and their patients, without clarification of misunderstanding by the patient. This miscommunication was portrayed as a possible act of manipulation to be able to obtain information the clinician desired. For example, a member of the Lacks family was asked to give blood, when she asked if the blood sample was to determine if she carries the same disease as Henrietta, the clinician never corrected the patients thoughts. These instances, when realized by the members of the Lacks family, added to the resentment and mistrust of clinicians and the medical field in general. Additionally, Skloot incorporates the religious beliefs of the Lacks family to gain a better understanding of their actions and to help recognize their beliefs and intentions regarding Henrietta’s case. Although Skloot shows she is somewhat uneasy with the topic of religion and it’s role in the Lacks family initially, experiencing the family’s emotions and views toward Henrietta and Henrietta’s case, as well as Skloot herself, allows