Bioethics; Medical Research
Define Bioethics:
"The ethics of medical and biological research."
Discuss how bioethics applies to Henrietta's situation. Form your own opinion of ethics:
Bioethics applies to Henrietta's situation due to the case of how Dr. George Gey took a sample of her cervical tumor without consent. Biotech companies made millions of dollars from HeLa before the Lacks family even knew. "When you leave tissues in a doctor's office or a lab, you abandon them as waste, and anyone can take your garbage and sell it," (Skloot 205). This affected Henrietta's family because Day and Lawrence really wanted to sue them to get a profit from what the cells have contributed but instead it turns out that they really can't do anything about those cells anymore. "And though the American medical Association had issued rules protecting laboratory animals in 1910, no such rules existed for humans until Nuremberg," (Skloot 131). Animals had protection from being treated as experiments while at the time Henrietta was alive, there was no opportunity to go against and say that there is a code of ethics that should be followed and is under law.
I believe that everyone has a different belief of what's ethical. But even with moral diversity, there's still a logical moral philosophy that most people could be aware of. For example, an ethical choice would be to be honest. No person will ever want to be with you if they know all you tell them are lies and no true information. Everyone wants someone to trust.
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What is medical research?
"The diligent inquiry or examination of data, reports, and observations in a search for facts or principles," (Medical-Dictionary).
Who performs medical research?
A medical scientist who wants to improve human health by researching new vaccines, treatment options, and drugs.
Analyze how Henrietta was used for medical research. Was this right?
Henrietta was used without consent. I don't believe this is right at all because first of all, if Henrietta had no chance to have a say in what happens to her body, then shouldn't her family? Her family had no idea about anything that occurred to her body. They purposely had lack of communication with the family because they just thought that it was just going to be another bunch of cells that'll die. But even then, there should've been some consent in any way that gives them permission, but obviously in those times there was no code of ethics until 1966 when the NIH established a set of requirements needed to research including informed consent.
What role does and should profit play in medical research? What is your opinion on medical research and profit?
Today the National Cancer Institute has shown to have gotten an increase in funds and a profit of about five billion dollars every year. But what have they accomplished in finding a cure? There's been small declines in death rates caused by different types of cancer, but the NCI buys very expensive drugs to get a cure treatment. Basic research is what has helped discover most of what we know about cancer cells, but they aren't really into it. The five billion dollar investment helps, but right now there's more profit than progress in cancer research. "The question is how to deal with this commercialization-whether scientist should be required to tell people their tissues may be used for profit, and where the people who donate those raw materials fit into that marketplace. It's illegal to sell human organs and tissues for transplants or medical treatments, but it's perfectly legal to give them away while charging fees or collecting and processing them," (Skloot 322).
My opinion on medical research and profit is that I believe that there may be circumstances in which you can turn your research into profit. But, if there's a situation in which there's great investments and a range of opportunities with a variety of expensive possible drugs that can create some sort of new discovery or treatment option, then why not focus on what you know that you should look for to learn more? I'm not saying that they aren't doing anything but I believe that they should take more risks and use the opportunities they have to find a way to discover more whether it be cancer cells or anything else.
"The ethics of medical and biological research."
Discuss how bioethics applies to Henrietta's situation. Form your own opinion of ethics:
Bioethics applies to Henrietta's situation due to the case of how Dr. George Gey took a sample of her cervical tumor without consent. Biotech companies made millions of dollars from HeLa before the Lacks family even knew. "When you leave tissues in a doctor's office or a lab, you abandon them as waste, and anyone can take your garbage and sell it," (Skloot 205). This affected Henrietta's family because Day and Lawrence really wanted to sue them to get a profit from what the cells have contributed but instead it turns out that they really can't do anything about those cells anymore. "And though the American medical Association had issued rules protecting laboratory animals in 1910, no such rules existed for humans until Nuremberg," (Skloot 131). Animals had protection from being treated as experiments while at the time Henrietta was alive, there was no opportunity to go against and say that there is a code of ethics that should be followed and is under law.
I believe that everyone has a different belief of what's ethical. But even with moral diversity, there's still a logical moral philosophy that most people could be aware of. For example, an ethical choice would be to be honest. No person will ever want to be with you if they know all you tell them are lies and no true information. Everyone wants someone to trust.
**********************************************************************************************************
What is medical research?
"The diligent inquiry or examination of data, reports, and observations in a search for facts or principles," (Medical-Dictionary).
Who performs medical research?
A medical scientist who wants to improve human health by researching new vaccines, treatment options, and drugs.
Analyze how Henrietta was used for medical research. Was this right?
Henrietta was used without consent. I don't believe this is right at all because first of all, if Henrietta had no chance to have a say in what happens to her body, then shouldn't her family? Her family had no idea about anything that occurred to her body. They purposely had lack of communication with the family because they just thought that it was just going to be another bunch of cells that'll die. But even then, there should've been some consent in any way that gives them permission, but obviously in those times there was no code of ethics until 1966 when the NIH established a set of requirements needed to research including informed consent.
What role does and should profit play in medical research? What is your opinion on medical research and profit?
Today the National Cancer Institute has shown to have gotten an increase in funds and a profit of about five billion dollars every year. But what have they accomplished in finding a cure? There's been small declines in death rates caused by different types of cancer, but the NCI buys very expensive drugs to get a cure treatment. Basic research is what has helped discover most of what we know about cancer cells, but they aren't really into it. The five billion dollar investment helps, but right now there's more profit than progress in cancer research. "The question is how to deal with this commercialization-whether scientist should be required to tell people their tissues may be used for profit, and where the people who donate those raw materials fit into that marketplace. It's illegal to sell human organs and tissues for transplants or medical treatments, but it's perfectly legal to give them away while charging fees or collecting and processing them," (Skloot 322).
My opinion on medical research and profit is that I believe that there may be circumstances in which you can turn your research into profit. But, if there's a situation in which there's great investments and a range of opportunities with a variety of expensive possible drugs that can create some sort of new discovery or treatment option, then why not focus on what you know that you should look for to learn more? I'm not saying that they aren't doing anything but I believe that they should take more risks and use the opportunities they have to find a way to discover more whether it be cancer cells or anything else.