Nov 14, 2022
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks reminded me of Lisa Jean-Moore’s “Speciesism” in a lot of ways. Skloot’s quote (listed above) connected to how Jean-Moore describes the relationship between humans and animals. Moore writes “humans can regard the same animal as both a companion and an object, as is the case with hunting dogs or dogs bred for fighting” Certain social classes and racial groups are often seen as and compared to animals, and treated as such.
In the case of Henrietta Lacks, she was a poor black woman taken advantage of by science. She was not asked for her consent to be tested on after her death in the same way that many animals aren't asked for their consent to be experimented on. Consent in both cases is assumed.
- RH