Is Human

Experimentation
Just?
By: Adrienne Toney, Rita Mikho
What Do You Think Human Experimentation
Means?

Raise your hands and respond please

 The Hippocratic Oath

The Hippocratic Oath is something that doctors take when they become official
doctors. The main thing that stands out is “do no harm”. But have doctors
actually done what this oath has asked of them?
 HeLa

HeLa

Henrietta Lacks, was a black woman, her cells are HeLa. She went in for treatment of her
cervical cancer and ended up being taken advantage of. When she went in for her surgery
her doctor had taken her cells without her consent. Henrietta ended up passing away
because her doctors hadn’t paid attention to the symptoms of her cancer worsening until it
was too late.
 Mo

Mo

John Moore, a white man who had “hairy-cell leukemia”. Moore went to UCLA for treatment
and his doctor was David Golde. Moore’s spleen had swelled up so much that it weighed
over 20 pounds. Golde had removed the spleen and asked for Moore to come back for
checkups. Moore was suspicious enough to ask his doctor to look at his consent form.
Golde had patented Moore’s cells and made profit off of it without Moore informed consent.
 Informed Consent

In most cases of human experimentation the patient’s consent wasn’t

taken. Like Henrietta’s case, she signed a consent form for her surgery to
remove her tumors but other things were taken out of her and used without her
consent. Similar to John Moore, he had been fooled into getting his cells taken
away for 7 years until he actually looked at the consent form and read it in depth.
 Difference In Treatment Based Off Race

White patients and Black patients are treated differently, for example Henrietta’s
cells were taken away without her consent.

“Doctors took her cells without asking… Henrietta's family did not learn of her
'immortality' until more than 20 years after her death.”

John Moore, a white man, was also exploited but he had the right to court.
Should Doctors Be Able To Make Profit Off Of
Your Cells Without Your Informed Consent?

What are your thoughts on this?

Would you donate your cells and allow your doctor to make profit off of
them?

How would you feel if your cells were taken and doctors made profit off of
them without your knowledge?

Do you think human experimentation is just?

Raise your hands and respond to questions or ask please.

 Sources
Guides: Bioethics: Hippocratic Oath." Hippocratic Oath - Bioethics - Guides at Johns Hopkins University. N.p., 14 Dec. 2016. Web. 06 Apr.
2017

Informed Consent." Informed Consent: Ethical Topic in Medicine. University of Washington, 7 Mar. 2014. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 23 Mar. 2017. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

Gorski, David. "Ethics in Human Experimentation." Science-Based Medicine. N.p., 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 06 Apr. 2017.

Escarce, Jose J. "Family of Henrietta Lacks Will Have Say in How Her Genetic Material Is Used." The Hub. NCBI, 08 Aug. 2013. Web. 06
Apr. 2017.