The Story Of Henrietta Lacks And Her Family

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The story of Henrietta Lacks and her family is one that raises many questions about ethics, consent, medical treatment, and family rights. The decisions made by the scientists and doctors surrounding HeLa research have had lasting impacts in the Lacks family. The question I have chosen to address is what change would have helped the Lacks children the most. I feel the most influential piece to the Lacks children’s suffering was being raised by Ethel. This portion of their life was filled with physical and emotional abuse that led to destructive behavior. This behavior would also play a role in the anger toward HeLa researchers and anyone else who did harm to the family or left them in the dark. Although questions about their mother, financial …show more content…

Ethel was a person that many members of the Lacks family felt was jealous of Henrietta and her life. Evidence of this jealousy is seen on page 111 in the book stating “A good handful of cousins still think that Ethel moved into that house and started up with Day just to get out all the hate she had for Henrietta by torturing her children” (Skloot 2010, 111). This shows the jealousy and hatred that Ethel had for the family before she had even begun to take care of the children. Each child suffered at the hands of her suspected …show more content…

At one point it is said “She put latches and bolts on the refrigerator and cupboard doors to keep the children out between meals” (Skloot 2010, 111). This shows the malnutrition that the children endured which may have led to poor performances in school and poor decisions in life. According to the Orphan Nutrition Website, poor nutrition can lead to cognitive delays including “learning disabilities, poor social skills, inadequate problem solving, and impaired language development as well as a decrease in the body’s immune system” (Orphan Nutrition 2016). These implications could have impacted the poor health and knowledge of the Lacks family. In addition to the hunger, the children were forced to perform hard physical labor in the tobacco fields with no breaks (Skloot 2010, 112). This increased their risk for malnutrition even more as their bodies worked with few calories. It also was most likely a contributing factor to the many health issues within the family. Deborah suffered from high blood pressure, insomnia, acid reflex, and various other health issues. Skloot writes, “Deborah took an average of 14 pills a day […]” (Skloot 2010,

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