Title

The Medical Ethics of HeLa Cells (2020-2021)

Authors

Elizabeth Pratt, SUNY Cortland

Files

Description

Pratt’s research inquiry essay focuses on the medical ethics issues involved in the case of Henrietta Lacks and her cancer cells (known as HeLa,) which have been used and reused in medical research without hers or her family’s consent. Throughout this essay, Pratt moves between several areas for concern including medical agency and patients’ rights to their own bodies, financial implications, legal definitions, and issues for privacy. Pratt concludes with a call for future regulations and focus on medical ethics.

Publication Date

2020

Document Type

Article

Keywords

medical ethics, HeLa cells, patient consent, Rhet Dragons, research inquiry

Disciplines

Communication | Education | Rhetoric and Composition

Recommended Citation

Pratt, Elizabeth, "The Medical Ethics of HeLa Cells (2020-2021)" (2020). Research Inquiry. 4.
https://digitalcommons.cortland.edu/rhetdragonsresearchinquiry/4