Rebecca Skloot Essay

The panel discussion I attended was focused on the second ⅓ of the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. The panel group discussed Chapters 12-16, seemed to have emphasis on unwritten consent, and how it is effective in current day, the suffering Henrietta Lacks endured alone, along with discussing the obstacles the author Rebecca Skloot had went through to find the true story of the HeLa cells. . Starting off on Chapter 12 ‘The Storm’ the discussion started off about whether the Lacks family was ever compensated and what amount or reward is owed to them. Questions surfaced of whether Dr. Gey had the right to take a sample without consent, however the medical science knowledge that was obtained from that sample has saved so many …show more content…
The chapter title ‘Spending Eternity in the Same Place’ seems to make reference to the graveyard where both the white and the black Lacks families are buried creating irony of the segregation that was intended although after death the factor was not relevant. This chapter also brought more involvement to Rebecca Skloot as a character in the book, not just the writer. The panel mentioned the trust which Rebecca Skloot had to eventually gain, and how she showed so much patience when dealing with the Lacks family, especially Debra. She was applauded among the panel group for being diligent, honest, forthright, and having a passion to understand who Henrietta Lacks was and how she ultimately contributed to changing the future of medical science. In conclusion the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks exposed the science, along with the moral and ethical aspects involving the life and death of Henrietta Lacks, her family, and the author Rebecca Skloot.. This book educates the readers as to past unethical practices, uninformed medical consent, prejudices, discrimination and poverty by lack of education issues that are still known in current