•HRES 638 IH 
Lawrence, Elsie, David, Deborah and Joseph (Zakariy-
ya); 
Whereas in 1951 Henrietta Lacks at the age of 31 was diag-
nosed with cervical cancer, and despite receiving painful 
radium treatments, passed away on October 4, 1951; 
Whereas medical researchers took samples of Henrietta 
Lacks’ tumor during her treatment and the HeLa cell 
line from her tumor proved remarkably resilient; 
Whereas Henrietta Lacks died eight months after her cancer 
diagnosis, leaving behind her children, husband and her 
‘‘immortal cells’’ that would change the world; 
Whereas HeLa cells were the first immortal line of human 
cells, doubling every 24 hours, dividing and replenishing 
indefinitely in a laboratory, and successfully growing out-
side of the human body for longer than 36 hours; 
Whereas Henrietta Lacks’ cells were unique, growing by the 
millions, commercialized and distributed worldwide to re-
searchers, resulting in advances in medicine; 
Whereas the advances made possible by Henrietta Lacks’ 
cells and the revenues they generated were not known to 
her family for more than twenty years; 
Whereas an estimated 50,000,000 metric tons of HeLa cells 
have been distributed around the world to become the 
subject of more than 74,000 studies; 
Whereas Henrietta Lacks’ prolific cells continue to grow and 
contribute to remarkable advances in medicine, including 
the development of the polio vaccine, as well as drugs for 
treating the effects of cancer, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, 
leukemia, and Parkinson’s disease; 
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•HRES 638 IH 
Whereas Henrietta Lacks’ cells have been used in research 
that has contributed to our understanding of the effects 
of radiation and zero gravity on human cells; 
Whereas Henrietta Lacks’ immortal cells have informed re-
search on chromosomal conditions, cancer, gene mapping, 
and precision medicine; 
Whereas Henrietta Lacks’ legacy has been recognized around 
the world through memorials, conferences, museum exhi-
bitions, libraries, print and visual media; 
Whereas Henrietta Lacks and her family’s experience is fun-
damental to modern bioethics policies and informed con-
sent laws that benefit patients nationwide by building pa-
tient trust and protecting research participants; 
Whereas the Lacks family entered a groundbreaking, HeLa 
Genome Data Use Agreement in 2013 with the medical, 
scientific, and bioethics communities, giving them a role 
in regulating the HeLa genome sequences and discov-
eries; 
Whereas Women’s History Month is celebrated in March to 
pay tribute to the many contributions women have made 
to the United States experience; and 
Whereas Henrietta Lacks and her immortal cells have made 
a significant contribution to global health, scientific re-
search, quality of life, and patient rights: Now, therefore, 
be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives during 
Women’s History month— 
(1) celebrates the life of Henrietta Lacks, an 
African-American woman who unknowingly changed 
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•HRES 638 IH 
the face of medical science, contributing to lasting, 
worldwide improvements in health; 
(2) honors Henrietta Lacks as a hero of mod-
ern medicine for her contributions to the medical 
discoveries resulting from her HeLa cells, which 
helped make possible some of the most important 
medical advances of the last century; and 
(3) recognizes Henrietta Lacks’ legacy, which 
has contributed to developments in bioethics and pa-
tient rights that benefit all people in the United 
States. 
Æ 
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