
Henrietta Lacks' Lasting Impact Detailed in New Portrait - Balgair
https://www.npr.org/2018/05/15/611389741/henrietta-lacks-lasting-impact-detailed-in-new-portrait
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fmitchell0
While it may be taboo, I think it's important to add context to her impact.
Her 'contributions' were more than a 'sad story'. She was a Black woman who
was experimented on without consent and without compensation who created one
of the most important cell lines in medical research. 'Contribution' implies
she did it willingly. 'Sad' implies it was unavoidable. These were deliberate
acts grounded in racism and sexism to rob an American and human being of any
reasonable sense of dignity. The fact that she happened to have remarkable
genetics is a key leverage point that can remind people of the importance of
ethics, not just science. It's extremely important for that to be a part of
the headline, not just a detail if you click through to the story.

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Udik
As much as this story is fascinating, "her" impact is actually non-existent.
The cells of the HeLa line come from a routine biopsy; she had no knowledge
and no part whatsoever in anything that was possible thanks to the cells line
that was taken from her.

~~~
letitgo12345
Why is this being downvoted? If people want female and/or black symbols, there
are so many others who actually made a contribution (David Blackwell of the
famous Rao-Blackwell equation, Shafi Goldwasser who won a Turing award, etc.).

Are we going to now start celebrating the people who got the first smallpox or
polio vaccines as great contributors to science just because they were chosen
to be the first for a procedure?

Attributing impact to figures who didn't personally do anything demeans the
struggles and accomplishments of actual minority scientists.

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iopuy
If anyone is curious about her life and contributions to science, I'd pick up
a copy of The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
([https://amzn.to/2rLLIHU](https://amzn.to/2rLLIHU)). It touches on some
pretty heavy sociological issues as well.

~~~
csydas
Almost never upvote, but did here.

This book will be a quick read for most people, as the author is very good
with her prose and knows how to weave a narrative. The impact that Ms. Lacks
had on modern science cannot be understated, and it will be a good evening
read that both gives you a basic run down of the impaction science that her
cells had on modern medicine as well as a very sad story with some positive
outlooks on the results of Ms. Lacks' contribution to modern medicine.

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scott_s
Radio Lab did a great episode on Henrietta Lacks in 2010:
[https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/91716-henriettas-
tumor/](https://www.wnycstudios.org/story/91716-henriettas-tumor/)

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mhb
It is apparently not unusual for hospitals now to do pelvic exams on
anesthetized patients without consent:

Pelvic Exams On Anesthetized Women Without Consent: A Troubling And Outdated
Practice:
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17088054](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=17088054)

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gowld
The OP is a light, short article that thoroughly justifies the title. Not sure
why the HN title is different, editorialized, and less informative than the
original article.

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dang
We changed the title from "The new Henrietta Lacks' portrait is really good".

Submitters: please follow the HN guidelines, which ask: "please use the
original title, unless it is misleading or linkbait" and "Don't editorialize."

[https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html](https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html)

~~~
Balgair
my bad!

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Angostura
The one piece of imagery, the piece doesn't mention. Her hat is designed to
deliberately echo renaissance halos, I guess.

