Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa Cells essays

Henrietta Lacks and the HeLa Cells essays When most people think of ethics, they most likely think of rules for determining what is right and wrong. Ethics provides guidelines for responsible conduct, conduct that identifies between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Ethics change as our values as a society change. What might be considered ethical can be a matter of a person's perspective; with money and privilege sometimes allowing for exceptions. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, about an African-American woman from Virginia whose cancer cells, collected for research as she was being treated for the cervical cancer that took her life, raises many ethical questions and issues surrounding her cells, known as HeLa cells, and other human cells? It raises the critical issues concerning the rights of patients who have had tissue removed and used for discovery of new treatments and drugs. The ethical and moral issues surrounding the HeLa cells are complicated, because the cells have been used to develop the first polio vaccines, test chemotherapy drugs, and develop techniques for in vitro fertilization. The cells have become an endless advancement to scientists. However, the HeLa cells have also caused much pain, suffering, and confusion for the Lacks family. The Lacks's family, for example, saw no profits despite being asked to contribute blood for subsequent research about which they were not adequately informed. Henrietta Lacks was treated during a time when medical ethics were very different. It was also a time in history when African Americans were used for medical research. When her cells were taken from her body, it was common for doctors not to get consent from a patient when sending their tissue to a research lab. The doctors and researchers used the tissues as they wanted, with no concern for the patients' rights. "This was a time when "benevolent deception" was a common practice- doctors often withhe...