I would like to think i was a good student in High School. I may have fallen asleep in class but hey, i was
still in AP bio and for the most part i still remember my anatomy and science. On top of that i try to stay up on what goes on in health debates especially when Black women’s health and justice are concerned. That is why i was TOTALLY surprised to learn of Henrietta Lacks and the way her cells have traveled the world a billion times over.
So, what would you do if one day you found out that your mother’s cancer cells were being incubated and tested in scientific labs around the world. More importantly, you might have wondered how they got there in the first place right? What if you learned that in 1950 your mother went to the hospital seeking treatment for an unknown reproductive health concern and was turned away. Then after her insistence, she was treated for a venereal disease without a screening (well didn’t you know, you can tell black women have some sort of sexually transmitted infection by just looking at them…), then again pushed out the door. But that couldn’t be it, right? how did they get her cells? well, you find out that your momma unwilling to take no for an answer goes back to John Hopkins and demands comprehensive testing. Well, it would be during these tests, x-rays, and blood transfusions the doctors find out she had cervical cancer and it had metastasized through out her body causing her deep pain. The doctors then take samples of her cells to create cultures of the significant growth they have never seen before, the cells have infinite regeneration capabilities, meaning they do not die. The doctors of John Hopkins in their excitement about the scientific ‘find’ hold a press conference the day after your mother’s death, announcing the availability of the cells for scientific research. You wouldn’t know this because your momma died at 31 and was buried in an unmarked grave. you would only learn the full story when a young white graduate student contacts you and your family for interviews to include in her book.
This is the story of Henrietta Lack’s cells and her family’s discovery that her cells have been shipped out and tested for over 5 decades all over the world. This is the story of the availability of the Black women’s body for use and furthering of medical science. What is remarkable is that Henrietta’s family, some of whom still live on the plantation where their ancestors where owned, whipped, and died, do not have the resources to seek the medical attention they need. Henrietta’s cells have been used to develop a vaccine for polio, they have been sent to the moon to test the affect of gravity on human cells, they’ve been helpful to further research on Cancer and AIDS. They have even been used to test human sensitivity to chemicals! Her cells do not die which means the opportunities for capitalist gains in medical industrial complex are too infinite. One only has to think of all the money the N1H1 and HPV vaccines have generated for pharmaceutical companies and the political entities that promote them (Texas governor Rick Perry i see you). So even with all of this her family cannot afford medical attention or preventative care? Word, its’ like that?
When i first heard this story i was floored. How did i miss this? How did women who organize and fight for reproductive justice miss this thievery that happened? Was the assumption that it’s ok to take material from this Black woman’s body without the consent or knowledge of her family just to be taken as another great contribution to history… well happy Black History Month yall. With all the debate of stem cells, cord blood, and many other advances, the bureaucracy for donating body cells has become a specialized legal terrain.
On a spiritual note, what does it mean that this Black woman’s life is infinite and is keeping the world alive in various ways? Additionally, i don’t know if i would want my momma’s cells out in the world traveling all willy-nilly. It’s worth thinking about. What will happen to medical science when there stops being enough Black bodies to experiment on? Look at them, they like the Black woman they came from are beautiful, but they too are copyrighted. damn…
c/s
juliRED
0 Responses to “Henrietta Lacks: cervical health, theft, & Black Bodies”