Henrietta Lacks
This woman’s cells were taken without her consent and became very important to science.
Who is Henrietta Lacks?
The team that proposes a change or plan.
What is the affirmative?
Laws that protect inventions and creations.
What is Intellectual Property?
The Affirmative wants to ban this related to human genes.
What are gene patents?
The Negative says patents help encourage this.
What is innovation?
The special name given to her cells that can grow forever.
What are HeLa cells?
The team that argues against the plan.
What is the negative?
A legal right that lets someone profit from their invention.
What is a patent?
One advantage argues the system is unfair because Henrietta Lacks’ cells were taken and used without permission, showing this larger issue in the medical system.
What is racism?
The Negative argues fewer patents could slow this important activity.
What is medical research?
The hospital where Henrietta Lacks was treated in 1951.
What is John Hopkins Hospital?
The specific action the Affirmative wants to take.
What is the plan?
When one company controls a product and can set high prices.
What is a monopoly?
Another advantage focuses on making medical care more affordable.
What is Healthcare Access?
HeLa cells have helped save millions of these.
What are lives?
Her cells helped scientists create this important vaccine that saves millions of lives.
What is Polio Vaccine?
Explaining how the plan works.
What is solvency?
A system where unfair treatment of certain groups is built into institutions.
What is structural racism?
The Affirmative argues that banning gene patents will increase this, allowing more researchers to study genes and lowering healthcare prices.
What is Competition?
The Negative fears removing patents will reduce this motivation for companies.
What is financial incentives?
Henrietta Lacks’ story raises concerns about this issue—taking cells without permission.
What is consent?
Reasons why the plan is a good idea.
What are advantages?
Permission that must be given before using someone’s body or information in research.
What is consent?
The Affirmative believes removing patents will lower these.
What are healthcare costs/prices?
The Negative argues the plan could make it harder to develop this in the future.
What are new medicines/treatments?