The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks By Rebecca Skloot: The Validity And Ethics Of Scientific Projects
In the shadow of one of the most decisive scientific developments of the 20th century lies the predicament of one family. It stands out as an epitome to how detrimental unethical scientific practise could be. Rebecca Skloot through her narrative in “The immortal life of Henrietta Lacks” attempts to outline the struggle of Henrietta Lacks as she suffers through cancer in 1950s USA. However, by the end of the book we are left wondering whether it was the cervical cancer that played the major antagonistic role for the Lacks family or whether it was the unethical medical conduct that follows.
Throughout the book one major theme that resonates in every narrative is how the Lacks family is kept in the dark about the HeLa cell research along with every other gross negligence by otherwise professional people in the name of the pursuit of scientific or academic research. Her children suffer from racial prejudice and are deprived of the wealth that other pharmaceutical establishment profit on. The purpose of this essay is to substantiate as well as elucidate this argument and discuss the importance of ethical practice when it comes to any sort of scientific research. In the view of Skloot, the trivial issue regarding Henrietta's life is the juxtaposition between her medical ailment and the cumulative ailment she and her family suffers due to unprofessional neglect.
Suffering from cancer, Henrietta tirelessly works her entire life on a Tabaco farm while her cells are sold across the world for a profit by various pharmaceutical interests. Ethical conduct in any form of scientific pursuit is of the essence as it can be the line between progress and tragedy. Even though Skloot does not present Henrietta's case as a certain tragedy, the over shadowing messages make it very clear that had she been informed of the HeLa research, things could have been different. Even though what the researchers did was not illegal when it comes to tissue culture, it was still unethical to keep it from Henrietta and her family. That is the message Skloot is trying to deliver. There are many other unethical practices that Skloot highlights such as a writer accessing medical records of Henrietta without any permission from her family. The revelation about the being of the disabled daughter of Henrietta helps shed some light on how mentally ill patients have been used for experimentation.
Skloot also sheds light on other unethical practices such as Chester Southam's cancer studies and the 'night doctor' stigma where black men and women were allegedly snatched off the streets of Baltimore for experimentation. The commonality in all this is the disregard and dehumanization of people which has led to their subjection to inhumane practices. Hence, a debate on scientific ethical practice is made inevitable. A topic often overlooked in popular media hidden behind the success of certain scientific breakthroughs. This can be further substantiated by looking at other examples of ethical misconduct in the scientific world. Throughout history there are many examples of unethical scientific conduct that affirm the need for ethical regulation in any kind of discourse. One such example is the Stanford prison experiment. ‘The Stanford Prison Experiment (SPE) was a study of the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The experiment was conducted at Stanford University on August 14–20, 1971, by a team of researchers led by psychology professor Philip Zimbardo using college students. It was funded by the U. S. Office of Naval Research and was of interest to both the U. S. Navy and Marine Corps as an investigation into the causes of conflict between military guards and prisoners’.
It is often cited as a popular example of unethical experimentation. There are many intangible negative effects that are borne out of such experiments that cannot be physically quantified. Mental well being, human emotional stability and the effect on society are such predicaments. The detrimental effects of the SPE has plagued the participants involved for decades which is a human cost often over shadowed by the advancements made by the experimentation. Again, through such examples, one is left wondering whether the end justifies the mean. Even though the SPE helped academically explain certain facets of cognitive psychology – it still ruined lives and that is a cost which with time becomes unavoidable. What is more dangerous than blatant disregard for human life is when it can be justified in the name of progress. Hence, in the past decade the concept of ethical regulation within the scientific community has become a very important issue.
In contemporary society scientific ethics has developed to the point of becoming a studied discipline with ongoing theoretical research in itself. There are now subcategories that cover various fields in science such as ethics of animal experimentation, bioethics, environmental ethics and more. Due to unethical practices as outlined in the immortal life of Henrietta lacks, SPE and even the experiments the Nazis conducted during WW2, united nations has taken preliminary steps to avoid such practices today. The UN has services such as the Global Ethics Observatory (GEObs) where a plethora of updated information on ethical guidelines, professionals, legalizing institutions etc. is stored. Data like this helps scientists around the world hold their research accountable to a standard ethical guide line. Many of these guide lines are influenced by past UN charters such as – Universal declaration on the human genome and human rights (2005), Universal declaration of genetic data (2003) etc. Even though the modern scientific world is not yet completely immune from the dangers of unethical practise, it is definitely closer to a solution.
Today issues regarding the validity and ethics of certain scientific projects is debated in the congress and parliaments of liberal democracies around the globe. A feat that was very rare just fifty years an ago. Such measures give us a sense of reassurance that there won’t be another Henrietta lacks whose ailment would be exploited for scientific gains.
