I 
118TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4122 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Henrietta Lacks, 
in recognition of her immortal cells which have made invaluable contribu-
tions to global health, scientific research, our quality of life, and patients’ 
rights. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 14, 2023 
Mr. MFUME (for himself, Ms. NORTON, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. ALLRED, 
Ms. BROWN, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. LEE of 
California) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Financial Services, and in addition to the Committee on House 
Administration, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak-
er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju-
risdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Hen-
rietta Lacks, in recognition of her immortal cells which 
have made invaluable contributions to global health, sci-
entific research, our quality of life, and patients’ rights. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Henrietta Lacks Con-
gressional Gold Medal Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) Henrietta Lacks, an African-American 
woman born on August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Vir-
ginia, was raised by her grandfather on a tobacco 
farm in Clover, Virginia. 
(2) Henrietta Lacks, her husband, and family 
moved to Baltimore, Maryland, in 1941 seeking eco-
nomic opportunity at the Bethlehem Steel Plant. 
(3) In 1951, Henrietta Lacks sought treatment 
for her continuous vaginal bleeding from The Johns 
Hopkins Hospital, which was one of the few hos-
pitals willing to treat African Americans at that 
time. Gynecologists discovered a large, malignant 
tumor on her cervix. 
(4) Unbeknownst to Henrietta Lacks or her 
family, medical researchers took samples of Hen-
rietta Lacks’ tumor during her treatment without 
her consent. Henrietta Lacks’ cells, now known as 
‘‘HeLa Cells’’, doubled every 20 to 24 hours whereas 
other human cells died in the same time period. The 
HeLa Cells are the first known immortal line of 
human cells in history. 
(5) On October 4, 1951, 31-year-old Henrietta 
Lacks died of an aggressive cervical cancer eight 
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months after her cancer diagnosis, leaving behind 
her husband and 5 children. 
(6) The HeLa immortal cell line is the oldest 
and most used human cell line used in scientific re-
search. Henrietta Lacks’ immortal cells have been 
commercialized and distributed worldwide to re-
searchers, resulting in groundbreaking advancements 
in modern science and technology. 
(7) Henrietta Lacks’ prolific cells continue to 
replicate to this day and contribute to remarkable 
advances in medicine, including the development of 
the polio vaccine and drugs used to treat cancer, 
HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, leukemia, and Parkinson’s 
disease. HeLa cells have been used in research that 
has contributed to our understanding of the effects 
of radiation and zero gravity on human cells, and 
have informed research on chromosomal conditions, 
cancer, gene mapping, and precision medicine. 
(8) The use of HeLa cells as the foundation for 
biomedical research has led to several Nobel Prize 
winning discoveries. The National Institute of 
Health located over 110,000 publications that cited 
the use of HeLa cells between 1953 to 2018. These 
advances were made possible by Henrietta Lacks’ 
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cells, yet the revenues they generated were not 
known to her family for more than twenty years. 
(9) Henrietta Lacks is a linchpin to modern 
bioethics policies and informed consent laws that 
benefit patients nationwide by building patient trust 
and protecting research participants. 
(10) Henrietta Lacks’ legacy has been recog-
nized around the world through memorials, con-
ferences, museum exhibitions, libraries, and print 
and visual media for changing the face of medical 
science. 
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL. 
(a) PRESENTATION AUTHORIZED.—The Speaker of 
the House of Representatives and the President pro tem-
pore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements 
for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, 
of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration 
of 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. 
(b) DESIGN AND STRIKING.—For the purposes of the 
presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary 
of the Treasury (hereafter in this Act referred to as the 
‘‘Secretary’’) shall strike a gold medal with suitable em-
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blems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the 
Secretary. 
(c) SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Following the award of the 
gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal 
shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where 
it shall be available for display as appropriate and 
made available for research. 
(2) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of 
Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should 
make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) 
available for display elsewhere, particularly at other 
appropriate locations associated with Henrietta 
Lacks. 
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS. 
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in 
bronze of the gold medal struck pursuant to section 3, at 
a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including labor, 
materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses. 
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS. 
(a) NATIONAL MEDALS.—The medals struck pursu-
ant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 
51 of title 31, United States Code. 
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