• It is interesting how many people would disagree on whether or not the doctors were right to take samples from Henrietta Lack’s cancer cells without her permission. On one hand, the samples they took did allow them to further their cancer research, but on the other, they wrongfully took these samples from a dying woman who did not give them permission to do so. It is a debate between whether it is better to fulfill the last wishes of a dying person or fulfill the wishes of the living. It is a topic that I believe will never fully be agreed upon. 
  • What living through events such as the Black Lives Matter movement and the COVID-19 Pandemic has taught me is that resolutions to conflicts often come too late. For example, throughout the 1800’s, Native American tribes were forced to endure constant relocations and violent altercations from the American government. These people were separated from their homes and their families just because they did not fit in with the rest of the American population. A century later, most of these Natives are living in poverty-stricken reserves, unable to get themselves out. By that time, the US government had begun to reflect on how they treated the Native Americans in the past and attempted to bring the tribes back together, preserve their religions, and give them more control over their lives. But at this point, the damage was already done, the Native Americans could not return to the lives they had decades ago because of how much the American government had torn apart their culture. With the Black Lives Matter movement, it started when George Floyd was killed by the police officer Derek Chauvin. But this was not Chauvin’s only wrongful kill. He had actually received almost 20 complaints about the way he handled conflict as a police officer. It took him killing a person for people to finally realize that he should not be a cop. While he was later sentenced to 21 years in prison, the damage was already done, this one action ignited the whole country and nearly lead to the government defunding the police. 
  • The problem with society nowadays is that many people are so quick to highlight negativity and ignore the positive side. Several scientists who found out about what happened to Henrietta wanted to try and slow down or entirely eliminate research done with HeLa. However, Henrietta’s own relatives did not even think that this was the best route to take. Many of them, such as her grandson Alfred Lacks Carter, believed that the best approach would be to at least acknowledge the fact that none of this development in cancer treatment would have been possible without Henrietta Lacks. Alfred knew that despite the doctors being in the wrong for using Henrietta’s cells without her consent, what they did with those samples ultimately benefited tons of people.  
  • One question I have is how will the new policies on taking samples from people for research change the progression of medical advancements? If these rules did not exist beforehand, then it is safe to say that Henrietta Lacks was not the only case of ignoring consent. In fact, many of the medical advancements made in the mid 20th century could have been the result of this same issue. So, if we start enforcing a new policy on conducting research with proper consent, could this slow down future medical discoveries or is Henrietta’s case not as common as one might think? 
  • Many people believe that racism is a thing that will exist until the end of time. While in the past, racial prejudice majorly impacted the lives of minorities in the US, it is now less of a common problem. Despite that, the hard truth is that racism is still prevalent in America. It is still embedded in many professions and lines of work today. For example, racial prejudice from the police is still a massive problem in this country. Is it as bad as it was in the 1950’s? No, but it is still seen often. From George Floyd to Sonia Massey, the public is constantly being reminded of racism in the police force. The question is how can we stop this? In the case of Henrietta Lacks, how can we ensure that doctors will not try to bend the rules for someone simply because of the color of their skin?