Medical Taking of Human Biological Material v. Traditional “Art Looting”: Henrietta Lacks and the Complex Ethical and Legal Liability Questions Raised by Her Unfortunate Case

During a poignant saga of American history, Henrietta Lacks stands as an emblem of both scientific triumph and ethical controversy. In 1951, Mrs. Lacks, a tobacco farmer and mother of five, visited Johns Hopkins Hospital for treatment of what was later discovered to be advanced stage cervical cancer. Her doctors treated her with radium, which was standard practice at the time. However, Mrs. Lacks’s cancer rapidly metastasized and she ultimately passed away just months later on October 4, 1951, at the age of 31.

During the course of her treatment, Mrs. Lacks’s cells were non-consensually removed for purposes of scientific research. The cell line, coined “HeLa cells,” have in many ways immortalized Mrs. Lacks, playing an instrumental role in numerous medical breakthroughs, including the development of Covid vaccines. Despite the immense contributions her cell line made to scientific research, Mrs. Lacks and her family never received acknowledgement or compensation for the non-consensual taking and continued usage of HeLa cells. Decades later, her family filed a lawsuit against Thermo Fisher Scientific, seeking damages in profits gained from the commercialization of her cell line.

This article explores the legal precedent governing the ownership of human biological materials and compares them to cases involving entrusted goods and stolen art. It scrutinizes the hurdles encountered by the Lacks family in their quest for accountability and compensation. Ultimately, the Lacks family settled with the biotech giant, sparking discussions about the ethical implications of using human biological materials in research and the need for greater protections of patient rights.