![]() ![]() It could be worth considering: did Golde feel the need to lie about his intentions because he himself thought that commercializing someone else’s biological material was intrinsically unethical and therefore believed that he would not receive Moore’s consent if he told the truth? When Moore asked Golde whether the follow up work on his cells had any commercial value, Golde blatantly lied even though the market value of the Mo cell line at that point was already around $3 billion. When evaluating Moore’s case, these last two factors occurred on an appalling level. As Cassie mentions, the final ruling in Moore v Regents of the University of California was based more on a fear of hindering further scientific discovery rather than on the clear lack of informed consent and abuse of power. I found Cassie’s analysis surrounding the prioritization of monetary gain over individual autonomy incredibly relevant. Post navigation ← Part 3 Skloot Vaccine Distribution and Potential Prioritization →Ģ thoughts on “ An analysis of Part III: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” This entry was posted in The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks III, Uncategorized on Octoby Cassie Srb. With it so engrained in our society, will we ever be able to reform the blatant disregard of racism and human rights by our society in pursuit of monetary gain? The family was not contacted until they were asking for blood samples to fix the “contamination problem”, nor did the scientists care to have more information on Henrietta or her family past what it could do to make their research articles on HeLa have more “character”. The fact that it took so many years for the Lacks to find out what was going on with Henrietta’s cells shows just how little the doctors care about Henrietta or her family past what they can do to maintain their research goals. The HeLa cells brought large monetary gain to multiple corporations, however Deborah who had significant health issues was unable to receive reliable medical treatment even though it was her mother’s cells that have brought wealth and scientific achievement to those who could help her. Monetary gain over the wellbeing of society is again highlighted by the continued poverty of the Lacks family. As this example points out, the government cares more about monetary gain then the individual rights of its citizens. The courts had one motivation: prevent de-motivation of researchers and companies, as well as maintain continued scientific discovery. ![]() When Moore took it to court, even knowing the cells were obtained through violation of informed consent, the court sided with the scientists ruling that once a cell is taken from the body it is no longer that individual’s property. ![]() Due to the cells high antibody count it was extremely coveted by scientists and the patent to the cells sold for billions of dollars. John Moore, a patient who had his spleen removed, unknowingly signed his right to his cells away on a consent form. Moore v Regents of the University of California is a prime example of where priorities lie for not only the doctors but also the American Government. While it is obviously highly immoral at the individual level for a doctor to violate laws of informed consent and essentially steal property through the loophole of fine print on a legal document, I think that this issue is an overall systemic problem. As in the first two parts, abuse of power and informed consent, as well as racism plays prevalent roles in the story. With historical context, character profiles, a timeline of key events, and other features, this summary and analysis of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is intended to complement your reading experience and bring you closer to a great work of nonfiction.In the third part of “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks”, Skloot works with Henrietta Lack’s family to find out what really happened with the HeLa cells. This summary of the #1 New York Times bestseller by Rebecca Skloot tells Henrietta's story and reveals what happened when her family found out that her cells were being bought and sold in labs around the world. She died of cervical cancer in 1951, without ever knowing that the samples were intended for extensive medical research. This famous cell line began as a sample taken from a poor African American mother of five named Henrietta Lacks.Ī cancer patient, Henrietta Lacks went through medical testing but never gave consent for the use of her cells. So much to read, so little time? Get an in-depth summary of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, the #1 bestseller about science, race, and medical ethics.įor decades, scientists have been using "HeLa" cells in biological research, from developing the polio vaccine and studying the nature of cancer to observing how human biology behaves in outer space. ![]()
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