Allison Abbey
Dr. Hoover
Ethics in Human Experimentation
3 April 2013
Position Paper 2
The two portrayals of HeLa cells and Henrietta Lacks, in the book The Immortal Life of
Henrietta Lacks and the video The Way of All Flesh are both well put together and offer much
insight into this compelling story. The information presented in both of these sources cover nearly
the same topics, but have a different angle of presentation. The book by Rebecca Skloot focuses in
much more detail on the life of Henrietta Lacks. Information going back to Henrietta’s childhood
and more personal information is included in this illustration of the HeLa story, making a more
personal connection to the Lacks family. When comparing this heartfelt story, with scientific
background woven in, to the video it is clear that the concentration of the book of this is to pass on
discuss the life of Henrietta and how HeLa came to be. In contrast, The Way of All Flesh showed
many different scientists’ opinion on the scientific issues surrounding HeLa, but only contains a few
short excerpts from her family. These are two valid ways of approaching the story of HeLa, and
watching the two has provided additional insight to both the family life and biology.
A major portion of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is the ethical issues surrounding the
collection and distribution of HeLa cells. Skloot’s book goes into detailed discussion of how the
tissue samples were collected without informed consent or even knowledge by Henrietta. When
comparing this issue of consent to what was discussed in the video, it is clear that the filmmakers
have overlooked this extremely important ethical dilemma. Henrietta’s cells were used without the
knowledge of her family, but they were also collected without telling anyone. There were a few
the woman to which many medical breakthroughs can be traced. Although the information is
presented in a different way in each, they are providing insight into the story behind these “magical”
cells.