Chapter 25 Study Guide - The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks
Do you agree with the court's ruling? Explain your answer.
I agree with the court's ruling because if the patient abandons their tissue, then they are forfeiting the rights to it because it is no longer a product of the patient's body.
Why did Ted Slavin start Essential Biologicals?
Ted Slavin started Essential Biologicals with "similarly endowed people" to help further the scientific development of vaccines and other aids for diseases and illnesses. Pg. 203
Summarize John Moore's story.
John Moore was working on an Alaskan Pipeline when he began to get bruises, bleeding gums, and a swollen stomach. Moore was diagnosed with hairy-cell leukemia and had to get his spleen removed. He went back and forth from Seattle to LA to do blood tests, give bone marrow, and semen. On one of his visits, Moore was given a form that asked for his consent for the rights of his bone marrow and blood samples to be made into cell lines. He circled "I DO". When he was given an identical form the next time, Moore did not feel comfortable circling "I DO" because he believed that his blood was going to be used commercially. When David Golde was insisting that he circle I DO, Moore hired a lawyer because he had a bad feeling about the form's contents. Pg. 199-201
Why did scientists find the Moore lawsuit deeply troubling?
Scientists found the Moore lawsuit to be deeply troubling because they thought that patients would hold out on giving their tissue to scientists for research purposes in the hope for excessive profits from the tissue. They also thought that it would block the progress of science if patients weren't giving consent to the rights of their tissue anymore. Pg. 203
What was the Supreme Court of California's decision regarding the Moore lawsuit? Summarize the reasoning behind the decision.
The Supreme Court of California's decision regarding the Moore lawsuit was that the patients did not have any rights to their tissues after it had been taken from their bodies. Their reasoning behind this decision was that when it is removed from your body and left at the doctor's lab or office, then you are leaving behind your waste or trash, and therefore are unclaiming it. Pg. 205
Describe the lawsuit that set a legal precedent for patenting biological "products" such as cell lines.
The lawsuit that set a legal precedent for patenting biological "products" such as cell lines was the case of Ananda Mohan Chakrabarty. Chakrabarty created a bacterium that was genetically engineered to consume oil, which could help clean up oil spills. Chakrabarty argued that since the bacterium was not naturally occurring, that it was indeed an invention, and they should be able to patent it. Pg. 201
Summarize the pros and cons of giving patients legal ownership of their cells.
The pros of giving patient's legal ownership of their cells would be that they would make/handle their own money, they would probably get most of the profit, and they would have the right to do whatever they wanted to do with their cells. The cons are that most patients would most likely not know whom to sell the cells to, and scientists wouldn't be able to use the cells to make vaccines since it would be considered theft. There might also be a decline in the number of people willing to donate their cells to researchers.