I 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7091 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Henrietta Lacks, 

in recognition of her immortal cells which have made invaluable contributions to global health, scientific research, our quality of life, and patients’ 

rights. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 15, 2022 

Mr. MFUME (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Ms. WILLIAMS of Georgia, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. NORTON, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. JOHNSON

of Georgia, Mr. SOTO, Mr. MEUSER, Mr. TRONE, Mr. SARBANES, Mr. 

BROWN of Maryland, and Ms. KELLY of Illinois) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services, and in 

addition to the Committee on House Administration, 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 

A BILL 

To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Henrietta Lacks, in recognition of her immortal cells which 

have made invaluable contributions to global health, scientific research, our quality of life, and patients’ rights. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Henrietta Lacks Con3 gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds the following: 

6 (1) Henrietta Lacks, an African-American 

7 woman born on August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Vir8 ginia, was raised by her grandfather on a tobacco 

9 farm in Clover, Virginia. 

10 (2) Henrietta Lacks, her husband, and family 

11 moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1941 seeking eco12 nomic opportunity at the Bethlehem Steel Plant. 

13 (3) In 1951, Henrietta Lacks sought treatment 

14 for her continuous vaginal bleeding from The Johns 

15 Hopkins Hospital, which was one of the few hos16 pitals willing to treat African Americans at that 

17 time. Gynecologists discovered a large, malignant 

18 tumor on her cervix. 

19 (4) Unbeknownst to Henrietta Lacks or her 

20 family, medical researchers took samples of Hen21 rietta Lacks’ tumor during her treatment without 

22 her consent. Henrietta Lacks’ cells, now known as 

23 ‘‘HeLa Cells’’, doubled every 20 to 24 hours whereas 

24 other human cells died in the same time period. The 

25 HeLa Cells are the first known immortal line of 

26 human cells in history. 


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1 (5) On October 4, 1951, 31-year-old Henrietta 

2 Lacks died of an aggressive cervical cancer eight 

3 months after her cancer diagnosis, leaving behind 

4 her husband and 5 children. 

5 (6) The HeLa immortal cell line is the oldest 

6 and most used human cell line used in scientific re7 search. Henrietta Lacks’ immortal cells have been 

8 commercialized and distributed worldwide to re9 searchers, resulting in groundbreaking advancements 

10 in modern science and technology. 

11 (7) Henrietta Lacks’ prolific cells continue to 

12 replicate to this day and contribute to remarkable 

13 advances in medicine, including the development of 

14 the polio vaccine and drugs used to treat cancer, 

15 HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, leukemia, and Parkinson’s 

16 disease. HeLa cells have been used in research that 

17 has contributed to our understanding of the effects 

18 of radiation and zero gravity on human cells, and 

19 have informed research on chromosomal conditions, 

20 cancer, gene mapping, and precision medicine. 

21 (8) The use of HeLa cells as the foundation for 

22 biomedical research has led to several Nobel Prize 

23 winning discoveries. The National Institute of 

24 Health located over 110,000 publications that cited 

25 the use of HeLa cells between 1953 to 2018. These 


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1 advances were made possible by Henrietta Lacks’ 

2 cells, yet the revenues they generated were not 

3 known to her family for more than twenty years. 

4 (9) Henrietta Lacks is a linchpin to modern 

5 bioethics policies and informed consent laws that 

6 benefit patients nationwide by building patient trust 

7 and protecting research participants. 

8 (10) Henrietta Lacks’ legacy has been recog9 nized around the world through memorials, con10 ferences, museum exhibitions, libraries, and print 

11 and visual media for changing the face of medical 

12 science. 

13 SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 

14 (a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 

15 the House of Representatives and the President pro tem16 pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 

17 for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 

18 of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 

19 of Henrietta Lacks, in recognition of her immortal cells 

20 which have made invaluable contributions to global health, 

21 scientific research, our quality of life, and patients’ rights. 

22 (b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 

23 presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 

24 of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 

25 ‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:12 Mar 16, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7091.IH H7091

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1 blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 

2 Secretary. 

3 (c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 

5 gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 

6 shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 

7 it shall be available for display as appropriate and 

8 made available for research. 

9 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 

10 Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 

11 make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 

12 available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 

13 appropriate locations associated with Henrietta 

14 Lacks. 

15 SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 

16 The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 

17 bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3, at 

18 a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 

19 materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 

20 SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 

21 (a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu22 ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 

23 51 of title 31, United States Code. 


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1 (b) NUMISMATIC ITEMS.—For purposes of section 

2 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck 

3 under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items. 

Æ 


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