Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold Medal Act
Bill: H.R.7091 | Sponsor: Rep. Mfume, Kweisi (D-MD)
Policy area: Science, Technology, Communications

Summary:
Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold Medal Act
This bill awards posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal 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.

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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold 
Medal Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman born on 
        August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Virginia, 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 economic 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 hospitals 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 Henrietta 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 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 research. Henrietta Lacks' 
        immortal cells have been commercialized and distributed 
        worldwide to researchers, 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' 
        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 recognized around the 
        world through memorials, conferences, 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 tempore 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 emblems, 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 pursuant to this Act are 
national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States 
Code.
    (b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, 
United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be 
considered to be numismatic items.
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