Henrietta Lacks

to what generally became a ruinous lifestyle. The book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, tells the family history behind the famous HeLa cells and follows the mistreatment of Henrietta and her family over the years. Many blacks were affected detrimentally by the obvious difference in status throughout the nation, and rather than united, it was divided they stood. On January 29, 1951, Henrietta Lacks was diagnosed with cervical cancer at…

objects and characteristics. For example, a cross is simply two lines intersecting until Christianity is assigned to it. These meanings hold no value without the existence of human societies and are not based on facts. The unique story of Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells encompasses social construction when applied to race, which is accompanied by struggles with discrimination and authority. The idea of race is as old as recorded history. Race can be defined as “Human constructed…

defined as an opportunity for continued viability. This means that everyone is given a chance to change things. Some may choose to change the world for the better, while others change the world for the worse. Part One of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is called “Life,” and there are multiple reasons as to why this specific word was chosen as the title. George and Margaret Gey were a pair of doctors that had a specific goal, as showed in this quote, “The Geys were determined to grow the…

Ethics of Patient Treatment The book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is a true story based on Henrietta Lacks, who was a patient at John Hopkins in the 1950’s. Treatment of African Americans in the 1950’s was very cruel and inhuman in the medical field and was fueled by racial stigmas and socioeconomic status. In the 1950’s African Americans were also targeted because of their socioeconomic status and ethnicity to participate in medical research such as the very cruel Tuskegee syphilis…

them choose to commercialize in order to turn a profit, causing many to debate whether or not it is ethical to put a price on a human life. One contributor to the argument is Rebecca Skloot, whose book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, illustrates the life of Henrietta Lacks and how her cells were taken without permission, grown in culture, and bought and sold for millions of dollars, all while her family lived in poverty. Stories like the Lackses’ shed light…

The Immortal Life Henrietta Lacks The Immortal Life Henrietta Lacks by Rebeca Skloot. Henrietta lived in a poor black town she farmed where once her slave family farmed. But Henrietta got sick. Henrietta got cancer. At this time doctors were trying to grow cells to help cure disease. So, when Henrietta got cancer they took her cells with out asking her. But with the doctors taking her cells there where many medical advantages. I think that in healthcare there are some things that you have to be…

The book, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, provides insight to scientific development issues in the mid 1900’s through the eyes of the Lacks family, the scientists involved, and the author herself. Three key issues discussed in this book are the ethics of informed consent for research, the ethics of genetic engineering, and how scientists relay information to people who are not experts in their areas of practice. The foundation of this book revolves around the ethical…

forget about the respect for fundamental human rights. In the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot, she writes about experiments back in the mid-twentieth century when she says, “They recruited hundreds of African-American men with syphilis, then watched them die slow, painful, and preventable deaths, even…

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…

is one of the few aspects of writing. In the book unSpun: Finding Facts in a World of Disinformation written by Kathleen Jamieson and Brooks Jackson, they discuss the spin in the world; spin which is deception. As well as, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks written by Rebecca Skloot, which analyzes the life and death of a woman, who’s being affected more than hundreds of thousands of lives. These…