Reflection On The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks

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Amy Le 12/14/12 The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Reflection Rebecca Skloot’s novel, The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, addresses many important issues. The issues explored in this book are mainly about Hela cells, racial equality and bioethics. Skloot examines many of these topics throughout her novel, but the most important issues I think stuck in my mind most would have to be bioethics and racial equality. I felt that these two issues were the most important because these issues are still important today. Regarding the issue of racial equality, Skloot’s novel talks about the bad past the United States had with racism. Back then, when there were Jim Crow laws, blacks and whites did not get along with one another. All public and…show more content…
For example, through the Socratic seminar I was able to learn that there isn’t a clear definition of bioethics or informed consent. It is really hard to define theses two key terms from the book. Informed consent could be about a lot of things. It could describe the medical procedure used, what’s its purpose, what is the significance of the results from the procedure, the financial value, and as well as the post procedure follow-up. Although the Socratic seminar and the novel left many questions unanswered for me, it made me understand more why things are they way they are in the healthcare and scientific research industries. It made me look more closely at the specific details health care professional do in their line of work. In society, money is the key to getting things to happen. It is inferred by the book that informed consent and bioethics are not as important as the appropriation of funds for research. I can tell that this idea is a huge controversy among different individuals. There are many individuals in our world like Henrietta that lack the knowledge to make decisions for themselves. Many professionals and figures of authority take advantage of this. There are many people who don’t care what happens to their bodies. These people just don’t understand the concepts of exploitation and scientific research. To have one’s cells used for medical research is very scary. No wonder in the novel people were frantic when hearing about the Hela cell. This book has made me more mindful of what I allow my doctor and other health care professionals do to my body. I feel that I feel more of an urge to really pay attention to what I give consent to and the meaning behind bioethics. Also, the book has made me hope even more that different racial groups will be properly educated in the concepts of bioethics and consent. Skloot did a great job in revealing the significance and importance of

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