Description
Book - Imortal life on henritta lacks
Info - use one of the arguments made by Rebbeca skloot as a "springboard"for your own argument about mdeical ethics. Using the principles and mehtods of theysay/isay, summarize one of the arguments made in the springboard text, suporting it with evidence from the text(They say portion). Then take position on that argument which you will support with texts you find or personal expirence. (I say portion)
- 6 pages
ive done half of it but my teacher says to remember that you are suppose to be making an argument on one of skloots argument (Maybe you can fix that)
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Explanation & Answer
Attached.
Running head: THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Student’s Name:
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The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Summary
Chapter 17 of the book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks talks about the illegal,
immoral and deplorable practices of doctors and scientists regarding testing cancer cells in
patients without their knowledge. It was Chester Southam, a renowned virologist who started to
wonder if the HeLa cells could infect the scientists who handled them. It is then that he decided
to test his theories through infecting a sick lady with Henrietta’s cells. This action was
committed without the knowledge of the sick woman. Also, Southam did a similar procedure to
other patients without their knowledge about the nature of the substance they were being
injected. After numerous injections, Southam was curious to know if anything grew (Skloot,
2010). To confirm his theories, the cells grew on the injected persons. However, we able to
remove the resulting cancerous growths in all individuals, but four cases. It was in these four
cases that cancer had returned.
Technically, scientists during the time of Southam were not worried about the
consequences of such actions, since the US did not have laws that dictate violation of some
human rights regarding scientific research. The period was technical with more violation of
patient rights leading to many people being infected with cancerous cells without their
knowledge. It was even sarcastic that people who questioned much about such injections were
regarded as individuals who objected scientific research (Skloot, 2010). Also, many people
during the time of Southam were too ignorant to understand the essentiality of study as well as
the content of the injections made to them. Most of them only thought it was meant to ensure
scientists enhanced their findings without causing harm to their bodies. Unfortunately, it was not
the case for practices practiced by scientists such as Southam.
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Thesis
The story on the Immortal Life of Henrietta lacks, particularly of chapter 17 explains the
dark days within the medical sector in the mid-20th century in the United States. Issues of evil
ethical practices within the health sector and scientific research are told to have been largely
characterized during this time. Similar to the days of Nazi influence and control in Germany
during the reign of Adolf Hitler, scientists such as Southam inflicted pain, anguish and suffering
to many innocent people. It is through injection of cancerous cells that can be compared to the
actions of Nazis on Jews, where innocent people had their lives put at risk for selfish and curious
desires of few individuals.
The action of scientists as portrayed in chapter 17 portrays how individuals in position of
crucial research can negatively use their positions to inflict pain and suffering, as well as cause
death to innocent individuals. Understanding how the cancer cells of Henrietta were used from
the start of the book to the last bit of the story that follows clearly demonstrates negative side of
scientific research. For instance, the cells were taken from Henrietta’s body without permission
from her or her family. Also, her family members would only learn about the sample cancer cells
through the accidental situation. Furthermore, the scientists investigating on the cells decided to
test it on innocent people without their prior knowledge. It is these actions that clearly portray
the dark part of scientific research in the mid-20th century.
Argumentative Illustration Essay
The book Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot tells the story of Henrietta
Lacks, who was an African-American woman who had died of cervical cancer. The story told in
this book covers the sample of cancer cells that were retrieved from Henrietta’s body. The story
also covers the life of Henrietta’s family, which she left behind after her demise. Based on the
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story, neither Hernietta nor her husband and family members knew about the tissue sample that
was taken from her for lab...