Life History of Henrietta Lacks: Racial Problems in American Society
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Life History of Henrietta Lacks: Racial Problems in American Society
Henrietta Lacks was a poor African American woman who died of cancer at a young age. When scientists took biopsies of her cells they discovered that they could stay alive outside of the human body and reproduce at an amazing rate. Today scientists across the world still grow her cells. Researching them has led to solutions for various medical problems and saved millions of lives. Journalist Rebecca Skloot realized that even though “HeLa” cells were famous, few people knew Henrietta’s story. She wrote a book “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”.
Henrietta Lacks – the person behind the cells
Henrietta was a poor black woman born in Virginia in 1920. She was married young to her first cousin, David Lacks, and fell pregnant at 14. The couple had five children, one of whom had a developmental disability. They start their lives together living in rural Clover, Virginia. This was in the family home of their grandparents. Despite the poverty, and vestiges of racism, the family was close and had many relatives living in the same town.
When she was 30 Henrietta discovered a lump on her cervix. She went to John Hopkins coloreds-only exam room. The doctors found she had stage one cervical cancer. Treatment at the time was lengthy exposure to radium. The treatments were ineffective and she died later that year.
Thanks to Rebecca Skloot’s book, more is known about the person behind the cells. Students often have to write assignments about this book and its themes. Many of these
still apply to real-life situations in America today. Colleges often seek students to do more research on this subject and also debate so to collect arguments for Henrietta Lacks essay, you can try this link here. To read sample essays on this online essay site is full of knowledge and experience-rich. This will help you discover themes they need to write about such as ethics, victimization, and the bias of institutionalized racism. They can also learn more about how to structure their essays. If they can’t find a suitable essay, they can choose a professional writer to write a unique essay for them.
Contribution to medical science
In Henrietta’s time, scientists were looking for ways to keep cells alive outside of the human body. A scientist called George Gey discovered a way of keeping cells in motion by putting them in a rotating cylinder. During Henrietta’s treatment tissue samples were taken and Dr Gey used them for his research. When he shared the news about an immortal “HeLa” line of cells he became famous.
Ignorance about her contribution
While the medical profession knew all about her cells, few people knew about Henrietta Lacks and her family. When she died her husband had to work two jobs and her oldest son had to leave school to look after his siblings. No one told the children what had happened to their mother and they were afraid to ask. Their father probably understood little of what the doctors told him. It was only years later that the family would understand more about the impact of her contribution to medical science.
Ethical considerations
In Henrietta’s time, the concept of informed consent was not common. The doctors wouldn’t have thought about needing consent to take her cells. Today doctors have to get consent to take samples in the U.S. but they still don’t need any further consent to use them for research. Many patients believe that they have a right to know what happens to their cells.
The consequences of taking her cells and them becoming famous would cause much confusion and distress for the Lacks family. It’s ironic that the world benefited from the cells of Henrietta Lacks and yet her family was poverty-stricken and couldn’t get decent medical care.
Exploitation of Black Americans
When writing her book Rebecca Skloot found it very hard to get any information out of the family. The fear and mistrust she encountered were some indication of the distress they must have gone through.
Black Americans in Henrietta’s time had good reasons to mistrust the medical community. Their exploitation by scientists is well documented. This started from the time they came across the slave ships. They were mistreated and dehumanized by the ships’ doctors.
Slave owners had agency over their slaves’ bodies and would use medicine to punish and torture them. One slave owner forced a woman to consume as much castor oil, a purgative, as she could.
Black women were sterilized without their knowledge.
A whole black community was led to believe they were immune from yellow fever. Many of them lost their lives caring for sick white people.
In a 1930s experiment, poor black men suffering from syphilis were left untreated so scientists could study the progression of the disease.
Medical students learned about the human body from the cadavers of poor colored folk.
The faith of the Lacks family
Religious faith helps the Lacks family to cope with Henrietta’s death. Believing that Henrietta is chosen by the Lord to be an angel was easier for them than understanding the biological and medical terms in Henrietta’s reports.
Deborah, Henrietta’s daughter, one of the main characters in Rebecca Skloot’s book, is a deep believer in Christianity. She believes Jesus is the promised Messiah according to the Messianic prophecy in the Bible. Deborah had struggled to make peace with the existence of those cells and the science that made them possible.
Eventually, Christopher Lengauer, a cancer researcher at John Hopkins, shows Deborah and Zakarriyya their mother’s cells. This gives them more understanding of the significance of Henrietta’s contribution.
It doesn’t contradict their faith in “The Incredible Bible” because they understand more about how the cells God created can hold countless potential. The Lacks family believes that scientific advances are heaven-sent. This gives more meaning to Henrietta’s story for them than dry scientific facts. Seeing their mother’s cells is almost like a religious experience for them.
Summary
Rebecca Skloot appeals to the readers of her book through the use of pathos. They become emotionally invested in the story behind Henrietta Lacks. Behind the scientific advances, there is a person and a family. Henrietta Lacks had no idea that her cells would make a significant impact on medical science. Her family didn’t either. Rebecca Skloot’s research and her interaction with them helped them to come to terms with what happened.
