Greeting members of the senate, I’m here to address an issue we've all been uninformed about. Last month during my AP Biology class, we were discussing cells. Sure, we know basic concepts of these tiny particles and their purpose, but did you know the importance HeLa cells? HeLa cells are immortal cells that were remove from a black woman without her consent in 1951. Her cells are responsible for the modernization of medical advancements today. Yet, her name is unknown to the public and was hidden from her very own family for years.
It wasn't until 1973, over two decades after Henrietta died in 1951, when he family received the shocking news. The family didn't fully understand the medical terminology, but knew that removing Henrietta's cells…show more content… He treated Henrietta when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer and also stolen Henrietta's immortal cells at John Hopkins Hospital, which was deeply racist. John Hopkins offered the best treatment to African American's since this was a time full of racism and segregation. Dr. Gey viewed removing cells from his patients as a reasonable idea since they didn't have health insurance and were unable to pay. This helped him purse his quest to find an immortal cells. Knowing the impact of an immortal cells, "The Geys were determined to grow the first immortal human cells..." (Skloot 30). Once he discovered Henrietta's cells, he knew that the medical world was in for a change. Their determination lead to the finding of the polio vaccine, cloning, gene mapping, and in vitro…show more content… Gey failed to give Henrietta credit for her cells because she was a poor, uneducated, African American woman. As black woman were horrendously overlooked in the early to mid 1900s, it forced Dr. Gey to keep it a secret within the medical world. To this day, African Americans, woman to be exact, are still diminished in society. According to urbanintellectuals.com, although tremendous technological advances have been accomplished, may black women still remain on the low end of access to proper medical care. This is unacceptable as Henrietta is the reason for medical advances, people of her same race and sex are still being treated
