Please help Henrietta Lacks Part I Her name was Henrietta La

Please help

Henrietta Lacks: Part I

Her name was Henrietta Lacks, but scientists know her as HeLa. She was a poor black tobacco farmer whose cells—taken without her knowledge in 1951—became one of the most important tools in medicine, vital for developing the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, in vitro fertilization, and more. Henrietta’s cells have been bought and sold by the billions, yet she remains virtually unknown, and her family can’t afford health insurance. s medical records show, Mrs. Lacks began undergoing radium treatments for her cervical cancer. This was the best medical treatment available at the time for this terrible disease. A sample of her cancer cells retrieved during a biopsy were sent to Dr. George Gey\'s nearby tissue lab. For years, Dr. Gey, a prominent cancer and virus researcher, had been collecting cells from all patients who came to The Johns Hopkins Hospital with cervical cancer, but each sample quickly died in Dr. Gey’s lab. What he would soon discover was that Mrs. Lacks’ cells were unlike any of the others he had ever seen: where other cells would die, Mrs. Lacks\' cells doubled every 20 to 24 hours.

Take some time to reflect about Mrs. Lacks and what happened to her throughout her illness.

Then, put yourself in the position of a manager who is required to report to the Ethics Committee at the John Hopkins Health System.

The focus of your report should be to identify the ethical priniciples that were violated in this case. In doing so, please provide (i) the ethical principle and its definition; and (ii) the actions taken (or not taken) that present a violation of the principle. Complete one paragraph for each principle you identify.  It is very important to explain why you arrived at this conclusion.

Solution

Principle of Justice - We have an obligation to provide others with whatever they are owed or deserve.

It is the grave violation of Principle of Justice at Johns Hopkins Hospital in the case of Henrietta Lacks. John Hopkins is earning multi billion in revenue primary because of the research done on the HeLa cells. Even though hospital is not obliged to pay her family for what research is done on the HeLa cell, but it’s their moral obligation to pay in return of what they are earning out of their predecessor. Since Henrietta Lacks’ family is not able to opt for the health insurance as their financial condition is not good and on the other hand Johns Hopkins are earning in huge so it is as per the principle of justice johns Hopkins should arrange for some royalty out of their revenue from HeLa cell.

The Principle of Beneficence - We have an obligation to bring about good in all our actions.

John Hopkins have partly followed the principle of beneficence. They have worked towards greater good for the human kind. They have also benefited out of it in terms of profit. But in due process they have forgotten the donor and its family members who are poor and couldn’t even afford health insurance. So John Hopkins is at fault in terms of this principle of beneficence.

The Principle of Respect for autonomy - We have an obligation to respect the autonomy of other persons, which is to respect the decisions made by other people concerning their own lives

Though Johns Hopkins is not in the direct contradict to the Principle of Respect of autonomy, Dr. George Gey is at the fault of it. Cells are taken without prior consent and purpose is also not declared while extracting cells. Working in 21^st century we can comment on the principle of autonomy, there is no such important thing at the time of Henrietta Lacks life time. There is no real monetary gain from the cell at the time of cell extraction, but it has turned into real fortune over the period of time. If cells would have taken with consent and declaration of purpose some form of arrangement would have definitely benefited to the Henrietta Lacks and her family. So there is clear violation of principle of respect of autonomy.

The Principle of non-maleficence - We have an obligation not to harm others: \"First, do no harm.\"

There is no such violation of any principle of non-maleficence. Johns Hopkins of Dr. Gey has not done any harm to the Henrietta Lacks. But both have worked towards larger good for the society.