AP Language

Synthesis Essay #1

                        Synthesis Essay #1

The Lacks family should get financial aid because their privacy was ignored, and they were lied to countless times, although some people might say that there isn't any money to give them, I believe they are just misusing the money they got off of Henrietta Lacks.

Privacy is important to all of us so why didn't the lacks get any?  In Source A it states "Imagine if someone secretly sent samples of your DNA to one of many companies that promise to tell you what your genes say about you."The author is trying to use pathos to connect with you.  Most people would be mad that their information was shared with companies without their consent. You don't care that companies see your genes?  Well in Soucre A it says "While it's illegal for employers or health insurance providers to discriminate based on that information, this is not true for life insurance, disability coverage or long-term care." Now how would you feel if you didn't get what you needed because of the information that was shared without your consent?  Still not a big deal?

You don't like when people lie to you so why did the doctors lie to Henrietta's family?  In Source B it says "They lied to us for "25" years, kept their cells from us, then they gonna say them things donated by our mother."  They were lied to for 25 years and when they finally found out they got nothing in return. In Source B when Zakariyya is talking she says "And you don't lie and clone people behind their backs." How would you feel if someone cloned you without consent?  I mean you wouldn't know how to feel because you don't know they cloned you.  Imagine how hard it is to lose someone and then finding out 25 years later that they did unspeakable things to your loved one. Most would cry.

"OH John Hopkins didn't profit off of Henrietta." That's a lie.  Document D says "Johns Hopkins Medicine today presented the initial design plans for the on-campus building project named in honor of Henrietta Lacks" This building is a prime example of how much money they have. Don't believe me?  It goes on to say "The new, approximately 34,000 square foot building" That is a lot of land, must have cost a lot, but on top of that you have to pay for the building materials, the manual labor, and the capital labor.  All that money spent on the building and yet the Lacks are living in poverty.

The Lacks family should get money or everything that Johns Hopkins did to them.  They lied to them, stole and distributed their personal information, and spent all this money on things but not a penny to help the Lacks family.