UNINTENDED LEGACY Henrietta Lacks, a descendant of slaves, died of cervical cancer in 1951. Few people had heard of her until the appearance of Rebecca Skloot’s book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks this year. While treating Lacks, doctors removed some of her cancer cells for research, doing so without her knowledge or consent. Those cells became part of the research that led to advances in antiviral therapy, cancer treatments, and mapping of the human genome. Many years later, her family members were also being used for research without informed consent. Skloot observes that “the story of the Lacks family—past and present—is inextricably connected to the dark history of experimentation on African Americans.” We are grateful to be able to live healthier lives because of the unintended legacy of Henrietta Lacks; we shudder at the methods behind that legacy. INTENDED LEGACY The psalmist speaks of the wonders of God’s glory as revealed in the marvels of creation. This is God’s intended legacy. He also intends a legacy for us since he has made us to rule his creation. But the legacy we build as we do so is frequently questionable. Sometimes we adopt a “the ends justify the means” approach, as some researchers apparently did in the Henrietta Lacks case. We still have trouble glorifying God in the way we rule the earth. 1. What are some ethical issues regarding the use of Mrs. Lacks’s cells without informed

consent? 2. What limitations does God place on our rule of his creation? 3. What are some ways that people have tried to “get around” the limitations of question 2? 4. What should be the Christian response to a scientific climate that operates as if there are no

divine limits to human knowledge and power? 5. How does Psalm 8 speak to you personally regarding the legacy you are creating?

—Charles R. Boatman

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