IV 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. RES. 926 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the President 

should award the Presidential Medal of Freedom, posthumously, to Mrs. 

Henrietta Lacks, in recognition of her invaluable contribution to modern 

science in the form of her own immortal cells—HeLa cells—without 

which life-saving medicines and procedures would not have been developed 

at critical moments in our Nation’s history. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2016 

Ms. KELLY of Illinois submitted the following resolution; which was referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that 

the President should award the Presidential Medal of 

Freedom, posthumously, to Mrs. Henrietta Lacks, in recognition of her invaluable contribution to modern science 

in the form of her own immortal cells—HeLa cells— 

without which life-saving medicines and procedures would 

not have been developed at critical moments in our Nation’s history. 

Whereas, in 1951, Mrs. Henrietta Lacks, a tobacco farmer 

and mother to Lawrence, Elsie, David, Deborah, and 

Zakariyya, was the unwitting donor of cells from her canVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:52 Nov 16, 2016 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR926.IH HR926

lotter on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
2 

•HRES 926 IH 

cerous tumor that were biopsied during treatment for her 

cervical cancer; 

Whereas at the time of her treatment in a racially segregated 

hospital, Mrs. Henrietta Lacks was subjected to a form 

of routine cancer care now deemed terribly harmful; 

Whereas Mrs. Henrietta Lacks’s cells, which were taken without permission and code-named HeLa, have proven to be 

medical marvels and the first immortal human cell line; 

Whereas HeLa cells have— 

(1) enabled the development of the polio vaccine and 

antitumor medications; 

(2) allowed for greater understanding of the underlying causes of certain cancers, HIV, the Human 

Papillomavirus (HPV), gene mapping, in vitro fertilization; and 

(3) been a part of missions to outer space, where astrophysicists have tested the effects of nongravity environments on human cells; 

Whereas, in 1996, Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta, 

Georgia, recognized Mrs. Henrietta Lacks’s family for 

her posthumous contributions to medicine and health research; 

Whereas her immortal cells will continue to help mankind forever; 

Whereas the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor of the Nation, was established in 1945 to appropriately recognize Americans who have made an especially meritorious contribution to the security or national 

interests of the United States, world peace, or cultural or 

other significant public or private endeavors; and 


lotter on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
3 

•HRES 926 IH 

Whereas Mrs. Henrietta Lacks succumbed to cancer at the 

age of 31 in relative obscurity, was buried in an unmarked grave, and finally received a headstone in May 

2010: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Rep2 resentatives that— 

3 (1) the President should award the Presidential 

4 Medal of Freedom posthumously to Mrs. Henrietta 

5 Lacks in recognition of her invaluable contribution 

6 to modern science in the form of her own immortal 

7 cells; 

8 (2) in addition to the vital medical advances 

9 born from HeLa cells, the case of Mrs. Henrietta 

10 Lacks has spurred the medical and scientific com11 munities to consider and publicly recognize its role 

12 in perpetuating racially and socioeconomically pat13 terned bias in the form of unethical, ill-treatment of 

14 medically underserved or exploited families and pop15 ulations; 

16 (3) Mrs. Henrietta Lacks’s cells enabled the es17 tablishment of greater health care protections for 

18 patients and are undeniably the fulcrum for greater 

19 ethical sensitivities within the American bio-medical 

20 framework, guiding present-day standards; 


lotter on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS
4 

•HRES 926 IH 

1 (4) Mrs. Henrietta Lacks’s immeasurable con2 tribution to modern-day science has generated a 

3 veritable medical revolution; and 

4 (5) like her cells, Mrs. Henrietta Lacks’s legacy 

5 lives on and deserves the highest civilian recognition 

6 in the form of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

Æ 


lotter on DSK3GDR082PROD with BILLS