"The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks" by Rebecca Skloot sheds a new light on HeLa cells. While, HeLa cells have played a vital role in medical advances and scientific research all around the world, nobody knows about the person behind the cells: Henrietta Lacks. Skloot's book provides insight into the life of Henrietta as a person and her experiences. Below are two passages from the book that represent one of the common themes throughout Henrietta's story: the industry of exploiting humans for medical experimentation.
Passages:
1) “But Deborah couldn't stop worrying...She'd heard the stories about Hopkins snatching black people for research, and she’d read an article in Jet about the Tuskegee study that suggested doctors might have actually injected those men with syphilis in order to study them.” (page 186)
2) “I later learned that while Elsie was at Crownsville, scientists often conducted research on patients there without consent, including one study called "Pneumoencephalography and skull X-ray studies in 100 epileptics."… Pneumoencephalography involved drilling holes into the skulls of research subjects, draining the fluid surrounding their brains, and pumping air or helium onto the skill in place of the fluid to allow crisp X-rays of the brain through the skull.” (page 275-276)
In both these passage the patients, the men and Elsie, are taken advantage of to the point where the scientists and doctors no longer even view the patients as human. These types of experiments usually only involved blacks and patients from insane asylums because during the Jim Crow Era, all blacks were discriminated against. Additionally, all ethics revolved around the medical experiments are disregard. In fact, most of the time patients do not sign any consent forms and are forced to participate in medical experiments that often result in torture, and or death.
At another point in the book, Henrietta's surgery, the doctors cut off a part of her tissue to be used for medical research involving cell culture. While, this may be seen as a lesser degree of the above it can not be disregarded. In each situation, the patient's bodies are taken advantage of and used unwillingly for medical research.
It is necessary that people learn about these hidden mysteries and see the evil involved. All patients, despite race, class or gender, should never be used for experimentation despite consent or no consent. Rather than forgive and forget, people must see the inhumane nature of the the experiments conducted by the scientists and realize that, rather the patients themselves being victims of dehumanization, it is the scientists.
Passages:
1) “But Deborah couldn't stop worrying...She'd heard the stories about Hopkins snatching black people for research, and she’d read an article in Jet about the Tuskegee study that suggested doctors might have actually injected those men with syphilis in order to study them.” (page 186)
2) “I later learned that while Elsie was at Crownsville, scientists often conducted research on patients there without consent, including one study called "Pneumoencephalography and skull X-ray studies in 100 epileptics."… Pneumoencephalography involved drilling holes into the skulls of research subjects, draining the fluid surrounding their brains, and pumping air or helium onto the skill in place of the fluid to allow crisp X-rays of the brain through the skull.” (page 275-276)
In both these passage the patients, the men and Elsie, are taken advantage of to the point where the scientists and doctors no longer even view the patients as human. These types of experiments usually only involved blacks and patients from insane asylums because during the Jim Crow Era, all blacks were discriminated against. Additionally, all ethics revolved around the medical experiments are disregard. In fact, most of the time patients do not sign any consent forms and are forced to participate in medical experiments that often result in torture, and or death.
At another point in the book, Henrietta's surgery, the doctors cut off a part of her tissue to be used for medical research involving cell culture. While, this may be seen as a lesser degree of the above it can not be disregarded. In each situation, the patient's bodies are taken advantage of and used unwillingly for medical research.
It is necessary that people learn about these hidden mysteries and see the evil involved. All patients, despite race, class or gender, should never be used for experimentation despite consent or no consent. Rather than forgive and forget, people must see the inhumane nature of the the experiments conducted by the scientists and realize that, rather the patients themselves being victims of dehumanization, it is the scientists.