Henrie's Cell Case Study

1. My thoughts on the issue of sterile procedures in the lab are that they should inform people before they do those procedures that they would become sterile. I also think that people should have to sign a consent form to make sure that they do understand the risk and to ensure that they know and are okay with the fact that these procedures will cause them to become sterile. They have every right to know, as they are their bodies. A consent form will also ensure that people are informed of the risks because I do not think Henrietta was informed or did not fully understand. Doctors could lie and say that they told patients about the risks of becoming sterile, even if they did not.
2. An example of a medical treatment that might one day be considered
I do not think that the Lacks family understood what had been done with Henrietta’s cells. When Skloot spoke with Deborah for the first time, Deborah talked about how she did not know anything about her mother. If she did not even know who her mother was, then how is she supposed to know what the HeLa cells are and where they are? Deborah told Skloot that she “wanted to learn more about her mother and what her cells had done for science” (53). Obviously, she does not really know what had been done; otherwise, she would not have been curious as to what they do for science. The telephone conversation that Skloot had with David was very short and he acted as if people called him all the time about Henrietta’s cells. David did not want to talk about his wife’s cells. That made me think that he does not know much about the cells, is annoyed by people calling about the cells, or both. Henrietta and her HeLa cells is a rough subject for the family. David clearly does not want to have anything to do with them; therefore, he probably never took the time to figure out what has been done to the cells. The Lacks probably never wanted to know or were unable to find out and due to that did not understand what had been done with Henrietta’s