DarkroomDoc@lemmy.worldtoNews@lemmy.world•Thermo Fisher Scientific settles with family of Henrietta Lacks, whose HeLa cells uphold medicine
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1 year agoEssentially then, she and everyone else was fucked. Again, it’s a simplistic view that doesn’t account for degree of harm.
I’m not sure what to make of the argument- on one hand I get your point for sure, no one wants to be profited off of. That said, she could not have possibly been credited in her time as she passed in the same year to biopsy was performed. Furthermore, the cell line was taken from the remaining tissue for her biopsy, which was destined to be destroyed or discarded. I think this argues against the idea that she was uniquely victimized.
This is certainly not to discount her contribution, it’s just that the harm here (lack of informed consent) was pervasive and widespread. If there’s another another harm committed, please enlighten.