From a legal standpoint, how is the fact that the doctors failed to obtain consent prior
to taking blood from the Lacks family in 1973 different from their initial failure to
obtain consent from Henrietta in 1951?
From a legal standpoint, in both incidents, first in 1951 with Henrietta and then in 1973 with the Lackes family, the researchers did not do anything illegal. No laws had been passed requiring informed consent. This allowed Gey to take Henrietta’s HeLa cells without any trouble. In 1973, however, the NIH guideline, requiring “that all human subject researched funded by NIH… required both informed consent and approval from a Hopkins review board” (Skloot, 2010) was broken. McKusick, who was funded by the NIH, ordered the blood test from the Henrietta’s family, without the consent and approval from the Hopkins review board. Although McKusick broke the NIH guidelines, he did not break any federal laws so the Lackes cannot sue him. Henrietta’s family’s blood was given to McKusick’s office on “June 26, 1974, four days before the new federal law went into effect requiring IRB approval and informed consent for all federal funded research” (Skloot, 2010). The researcher did not think morally or ethically, they only did what would benefit the future of science, even if it meant using another human being. The researchers probably didn’t tell Henrietta or her family about the research and samples because both Henrietta and her family would be reluctant to allow any of the tests.
Zunera is right where in 1973 there was a law passed where everyone should get informed consent, whereas, in 1951 there wasn't a law and that is why they were able to take Henrietta's cells without even telling her what they needed them for or how valuable they are. The reasoning on why they actually gave informed consent to the Lackses was because they really needed their cells to fix the HeLa contamination problem and compare the DNA, to separate what was HeLa and what were the other cells (Skloot, 2010, 184-185). The Lackses believed that what they were used for was to see if they had the same cancer as their mother and they did not know the huge problem that their mother had caused so they were willing to help because it involved them and their life and future.
From a legal standpoint, in both incidents, first in 1951 with Henrietta and then in 1973 with the Lackes family, the researchers did not do anything illegal. No laws had been passed requiring informed consent. This allowed Gey to take Henrietta’s HeLa cells without any trouble. In 1973, however, the NIH guideline, requiring “that all human subject researched funded by NIH… required both informed consent and approval from a Hopkins review board” (Skloot, 2010) was broken. McKusick, who was funded by the NIH, ordered the blood test from the Henrietta’s family, without the consent and approval from the Hopkins review board. Although McKusick broke the NIH guidelines, he did not break any federal laws so the Lackes cannot sue him. Henrietta’s family’s blood was given to McKusick’s office on “June 26, 1974, four days before the new federal law went into effect requiring IRB approval and informed consent for all federal funded research” (Skloot, 2010). The researcher did not think morally or ethically, they only did what would benefit the future of science, even if it meant using another human being. The researchers probably didn’t tell Henrietta or her family about the research and samples because both Henrietta and her family would be reluctant to allow any of the tests.
ReplyDeleteZunera is right where in 1973 there was a law passed where everyone should get informed consent, whereas, in 1951 there wasn't a law and that is why they were able to take Henrietta's cells without even telling her what they needed them for or how valuable they are. The reasoning on why they actually gave informed consent to the Lackses was because they really needed their cells to fix the HeLa contamination problem and compare the DNA, to separate what was HeLa and what were the other cells (Skloot, 2010, 184-185). The Lackses believed that what they were used for was to see if they had the same cancer as their mother and they did not know the huge problem that their mother had caused so they were willing to help because it involved them and their life and future.
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