...Florestal Mrs. Johnston AP Language and Composition February 26, 2015 Argumentive Essay The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks In research, all scientists want to solve the world’s greatest health issues. It’s their obligation to do what they can to cure and create drugs and ways to help humanity. If doctors have to go to great lengths as in taking people’s cells without their knowledge or permission, then they should be allowed to do that. Henrietta Lack’s cells have served as a basis for many scientific discoveries but without her cells who knows if those discoveries would have been possible today? Therefore I do believe the hospitals and clinics should have your cells once its removed. At Johns Hopkins Hospital many patients were part of research without knowing at all and even though they did sign a consent form, who would know if Henrietta fully understood what she was signing. The poorly educated Henrietta left school at an early age. This makes it very doubtful she could have known what would be done with her tissues. If patients were in charge of their cells, what does it mean for science? Would concerns all scientific research is prevented. If the patient was in charge of their own cells, it’ll just give them a reason to deny it. The donation of tissues is not about the donor, its bout the researchers who poured their intellect into cells that could help humanity. Henrietta cells have assisted researchers in the process but who knows what have happen without...
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...assey Barbeau 11/10/16 Mr. Mooney The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Essay Skloot, Rebecca. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. New York: Broadway Books, 2010 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is Rebecca Skloot’s debut monograph, and she has only written one other monograph since. Skloot attended Colorado State University, and received her MFA from University of Pittsburgh. Though she has only written two monographs, Skloot is the author of hundreds of essays and stories published in various magazines. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, written by Rebecca Skloot, tells the story of a young African American woman named Henrietta Lacks, who was diagnosed with cervical cancer. Though she was put through many painful medical treatments, Henrietta Lacks succumbed to her illness at the young age of 31. Unbeknown to Henrietta and her family, surgeons at John Hopkins Hospital had taken tissue from Lacks’ tumor, and sent the cells to be investigated by Dr. Gey, a researcher at John Hopkins Hospital. Despite the fact that many would consider this morally corrupt, informed consent had not yet materialized at this time, so there was no legal wrongdoing on the part of John Hopkins. Much to Dr. Gey’s surprise, Henrietta Lacks’ cells were growing astonishingly...
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...Thesis: In her novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Skloot uses events from the lives of the Lacks family and examples of medical treatment from the time, to construct and defend the argument that minorities and members of lower socioeconomic statuses receive worse medical treatment than upper and middle class non-minorities and are subjected to exploitation. Topic Sentence 01: Many medical professionals at the time, had negative attitudes towards non white, uneducated or impoverished peoples. Evidence: “But Carrel wasn’t interested in immortality for the masses. He was a eugenicist: organ transplantation and life extension were ways to preserve what he saw as the superior white race…”(Skloot 59). Commentary: Carrel, a nobel prize...
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...the one who introduced Skloot to Henrietta Lacks. He started the whole book, in a way. He introduced the idea that HeLa cells were used in research that helped develop drugs for treating herpes, leukemia, influenza, Parkinson, hemophilia….etc to Skloot and her classmates. But perhaps the most important thing he said about Henrietta Lacks to Skloot and his students was an afterthought “She was a black woman” and then that was the end of the discussion of Henrietta Lacks in that class period. This short discussion in class sparked Skloot’s curiosity about Henrietta Lacks. She followed Defler into his office to inquire more details about this woman who contributed so much to modern medicine. However, Defler couldn’t even answer Skloot’s various questions about Henrietta’s life because he didn’t even know. Defler planted a seed inside Skloot’s mind that kept growing after Skloot find that not a lot of information is known about Henrietta Lacks so as she grew up; she was determined to find out more about Henrietta by researching her history and family members and then putting effort into getting...
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...Reading “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot has identified various ethical issues. At the forefront is the disregard for patient consent when Henrietta Lacks cells are taken from her without her knowledge and sent to a lab where they grow and continuously sold to other labs all around the world. Informed consent is a patient right, however, at that time for a black woman no one thought twice about asking her permission or even informing her that samples were taken. Now looking back and think what occurred we cringe. Knowing that HeLa cells are in labs all around the world and were used in various vaccines and research without her permission is thoroughly chilling. “With Henrietta unconscious on the operating table… Wharton picked up a sharp knife and shaved two dime-sized pieces of tissue from Henrietta’s cervix” (Skloot, 2010, 33). This vivid account of the cells being taken from Henrietta’s...
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...The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is uniquely arranged in a complex double plot line between Henrietta Lacks’ life story and the journey of discovery that the author, Rebecca Skloot, embarked upon in search of the truth behind HeLa (the cells of Henrietta Lacks). The narrative perspective of the work differs between both plot lines: the sections from the author’s point of view are spoken in first person, while the parts pertaining to Henrietta and her family have a third-person omniscient perspective. Beginning at Ch 29: A Village of Henriettas, the two plot lines of the novel converge, bringing together Rebecca Skloot and Henrietta’s devoted daughter, Deborah, as the two passionately collaborate to uncover the emotional shocking truth behind the mystery of HeLa. Book Context: Ch. 1-10 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks reveals the true story of the woman from the 1940-50s who was behind the miracle HeLa cells; these cells were the first to permanently survive outside the human body and they are still alive today in laboratories across the globe. Furthermore, these HeLa cells...
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...In “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” by Rebecca Skloot, the story chronicles the author’s search for the truth of Henrietta Lacks, an African American women whose cancer cells were harvested to create an immortal line of cells for scientific experimentation. The author tells Henrietta and her family’s story, including the backstory, emotional baggage, and more. Due to being mistreated by the media and scientific community. Skloot struggles to gain the family’s trust. The purpose of this book is to expose the issues of ethnicity and consent in medical research. In 1951, Henrietta Lacks obtained help for a “knot” on her cervix at John Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland. There, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, and received radium and x-ray therapy. Through this process, some of the tumor’s tissue was removed, and sent to George Gey, the head of tissue culture at the hospital, where...
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...Karen Plascencia Dr. Joe Puterbaugh English 101 11-03-12 Essay –Analysis of Rhetorical Strategies Rebecca Skloot’s book Rebecca Skloot’s book is an extraordinary and interesting book that narrates the live of Henrietta Lacks. The women who suffered from cervical cancer and later on died because of it. Doctors took out her cells without her family consents. Without knowing that those cells never die and the Doctors were getting multimillionaires. This book is really fascinating because it has several examples of how Henrietta Lacks used to live. Rebecca Skloot uses a rhetorical strategy to make this book even more real, she gives several supporting evidence when she spent few hours researching and trying to locate her family. She also, makes us feel what she feels about Henrietta Lacks and her family by explaining each moment of Henrietta’s life when she was alive and how this situation affected the family and she uses a clear tone to explain us how hard it was for Henrietta Lacks to be black and sick in those times and no getting the same treatment as whites. These strategies are: Logos, pathos and ethos. Rebecca Skloot uses logos in this book because she gives us supporting evidence about Henrietta Lacks. Since she was in school she heard about Hela cells, how they were reproducing every single minute and never die, but she was interested to know who was the person whom they took out the cells from. She asked to her teacher about the name of the person and her teacher...
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...The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Essay Prompt 2 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks details how one woman’s immortal cells brought forth a medical revolution, with advances in medical technology and the development of a polio vaccine. Years earlier, the Industrial Revolution generated a wave of major breaks in biomedical engineering and the surgical field, with the invention of x-rays, anesthetics, and antiseptics (Local Histories). In a time rich with major breakthroughs in science, one may wonder at what cost have these developments revolutionized modern medicine? And at what point do we cease to advance our knowledge in the medical field for the sake of science and helping others, and instead let greed and money motivate scientific pursuits?...
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...permission. While this at first may not seem like a momentous event, there were far reaching impacts of this collection according to The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, a nonfiction account of the event, by Rebecca Skloot. The book follows the story of the Lacks family, exploring how Henrietta’s cells, dubbed “HeLa” cells, resulted in the first self-sustaining “immortal” cell line, solved multiple medical issues, spawned a multi-billion dollar industry, and ignited a debate on an individual’s ownership over their body. The Lackses were not informed in any way about the extraction of her tissue until 20 years after her death, and have not received a cent of compensation for the cells Henrietta contributed. The case is a prime example of the exploitation of an individual for financial purposes, with pharmaceutical companies making billions and the Lackses still poor and struggling...
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...particular, and medical advances in general? Does the Lacks family have any claim to the money that has been made from HeLa? Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one. ~Chinese Proverb I find the question of who should reek the benefits of the HeLa cells in the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to be not just be a simple he or she answer (if that makes any sense), but I find this question really asks something deeper. The questions I believe this is asking us is if it was legal for dr. George Otto Gey to do what he did and if so was it morally and ethically correct to for him to do so. As for the claim question, two questions really have to be answered, and they are: I.) Do the Lacks legally have any claim to the money that was profited from the HeLa cells? II.) Do the Lacks morally (without legal matters being taken into consideration) have a claim to the money that was profited from the HeLa cells? Legally Right or Wrong Now to elaborate on the legal aspects of this question; was it legally acceptable for the HeLa cells to be taken without Henrietta’s permission/knowledge and used for research and profit? From an excerpt from the Columbia Science and Law Technology Review it gives a similar case that was argued in the Supreme Court (circa 1980’s). In the following excerpt it will show the more than likely ruling to a HeLa case (had one taken place). Given the current state of the law, the Henrietta Lackses of the world have a hard argument to make...
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...her cells to other researchers around the world without her family’s consent. Moreover, the Lackes themselves were used in medical research without informed consent, and Henrietta’s medical records were release to journalists without her family knowing. These are issues because the cells of Henrietta lack were used to create “immortal” cells that provided a steady supply of cells for medical research and allowed to find cure for multiple diseases, and guaranteed the medical industry millions of dollar when her family his struggling to pay for healthcare. Moreover, researchers at Johns Hopkins asked the Lack’s family to give blood sample to test for cancer when in fact, the sample were used solely to identify their mother’s cell. The researchers never contacted back the Lack’s family, and some of them still wonder if they have the same cancer that killed their mother. These issues in this case concern the broad category of consumer confidence issues where employers and employees have responsibilities to their customers or clients. Johns Hopkins, a healthcare provider institution, and its doctors and researchers who are the care giver had responsibilities to their patient Henrietta and her family. In addition, the case is concerned with the specific are of fiduciary responsibilities, and client confidentiality and privacy. The researchers at Johns Hopkins had the fiduciary responsibility to respect Henrietta’s basic human rights by seeking her consent before using her cells...
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...2nd Quarter Extra Credit – Honors Biology The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks This assignment is due on or before the 1st Semester Final Exam. There will be NO EXCEPTIONS to this deadline. You may turn it in at any point before the exam. You have 2 options with this reading….. #1 you can answer all of the questions related to the chapters below, or #2 you can develop your own project to show your understanding of the books concepts. You do this all the time in English class, now you can create your own project to present the many issues in the story of Hela cells. There are several questions to be answered below. Make sure you develop answers to each of the questions using complete sentences. DO NOT simply say “Ch 1 Q 1 No” I should not have to refer back to the question each time you answer a question to see what the question was…. incorporate the question into the answer and elaborate upon your answer when necessary. Prologue: The Woman in the Photograph 1. The author uses several similes to describe cells. What simile does she use to describe the way a cell looks? What simile does she use to explain the functions of the different parts of a cell? What do these similes suggest about biology? 2. What is mitosis? What beneficial biological processes involve mitosis? 3. What simile does Donald Defler use to describe mitosis? 4. What happens when there is a mistake during the process of mitosis? 5. According to Defler, how important was the...
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...the Biomaterials track of Biomedical Engineering at the TU Delft fit perfectly for this purpose. As may have been made clear by my background, my interests vary and range from technical, medical and even business fields. My Bachelor for example, also reflects this versatility of interests. Physics doesn’t focus itself on a single subject. My undergraduate studies gave me a very solid basis in Mathematics, Mechanics, Electronics, and even, because of my major in Nanophysics, some Chemistry. This is something I notice clearly when discussing subjects with peers, where I can easily chime in and give my two cents on most technical subjects. However, even though I can contribute everywhere, I often lack more in depth knowledge. Furthermore, due to the theoretical focus of my Bachelors, I lack skills many engineers do have such as modeling and programming or design skills. With the risk of oversimplifying this: I often understand the building blocks, what is needed for them, and how they are made. On the other hand, I am not very good at using them to build something. Luckily, the Bio tissues and Biomechanics track allows for a lot of freedom regarding the technical field, giving me the opportunity to work away my weaknesses by picking (additional) courses that focus on modeling and design. Going back to my wide range of interests, this is also something that reflects in my future plans. Firstly, I would like to express my entrepreneurial spirit by founding a company that allows for...
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...book. Weisel says “We must not see any person as an abstraction”. This means that we can not just think of someone as a idea but we have to recognize that they actually lived and had a life. Henrietta is often interpreted as an abstraction and not a real person. Very many people get so caught up in the story that they forget that Henrietta was a real life living and breathing person. Once you understand that, you can really appreciate what her family has gone through and what she had to go through in her lifetime. Elies’ quote also relates to people of Henrietta’s time. When her cells were being passed around to different doctors without anyones consent, they didn’t think of her...
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