,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #ast ,session  
,s4 #ahic  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,may #bb1 #bjbe
 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen 7for himself and ,ms4
 ,alsobrooks7 introduced the following  
bill2 which was read twice and referred 
to the ,committee on ,banking1 ,housing1
 and ,urban ,affairs  ,a ,,bill  ,to    
award posthumously a ,congressional     
,gold ,medal to ,henrietta ,lacks1 in   
recognition of her immortal cells which 
have made invaluable contributions to   
global health1 scientific research1 our 
quality of life1 and patients' rights4  
#a4  ,short title  ,this ,act may be    
cited as the ,henrietta ,lacks          
,congressional ,gold ,medal ,act4  #b4  
,findings  ,congress finds the          
following3 7#a7 ,henrietta ,lacks1 an   
,african-,american woman born on ,august
 #a1 #aibj1 in ,roanoke1 ,virginia1 was 
raised by her grandfather on a tobacco  
farm in ,clover1 ,virginia4  7#b7       
,henrietta ,lacks1 her husband1 and     
family moved to ,baltimore1 ,maryland in

 #aida seeking economic opportunity at  
the ,bethlehem ,steel ,plant4  7#c7 ,in 
#aiea1 ,henrietta ,lacks sought         
treatment for her continuous vaginal    
bleeding from ,the ,johns ,hopkins      
,hospital1 which was one of the few     
hospitals willing to treat ,african     
,americans at that time4 ,gynecologists 
discovered a large1 malignant tumor on  
her cervix4  7#d7 ,unbeknownst to       
,henrietta ,lacks or her family1 medical
 researchers took samples of ,henrietta 
,lacks' tumor during her treatment      
without her consent4 ,henrietta ,lacks' 
cells1 now known as ,he,la ,cells1      
doubled every #bj to #bd hours whereas  
other human cells died in the same time 
period4 ,the ,he,la ,cells are the first
 known immortal line of human cells in  
history4  7#e7 ,on ,october #d1 #aiea1  
#ca-year-old ,henrietta ,lacks died of  
an aggressive cervical cancer eight     
months after her cancer diagnosis1      
leaving behind her husband and #e       
children4  7#f7 ,the ,he,la immortal    

cell line is the oldest and most used   
human cell line used in scientific      
research4 ,henrietta ,lacks' immortal   
cells have been commercialized and      
distributed worldwide to researchers1   
resulting in groundbreaking advancements
 in modern science and technology4  7#g7
 ,henrietta ,lacks' prolific cells      
continue to replicate to this day and   
contribute to remarkable advances in    
medicine1 including the development of  
the polio vaccine and drugs used to     
treat cancer1 ,,hiv_/,,aids1 hemophilia1
 leukemia1 and ,parkinson's disease4    
,he,la cells have been used in research 
that has contributed to our             
understanding of the effects of         
radiation and zero gravity on human     
cells1 and have informed research on    
chromosomal conditions1 cancer1 gene    
mapping1 and precision medicine4  7#h7  
,the use of ,he,la cells as the         
foundation for biomedical research has  
led to several ,nobel ,prize winning    
discoveries4 ,the ,national ,institute  

of ,health located over #aaj1jjj        
publications that cited the use of      
,he,la cells between #aiec to #bjah4    
,these advances were made possible by   
,henrietta ,lacks' cells1 yet the       
revenues they generated were not known  
to her family for more than twenty      
years4  7#i7 ,henrietta ,lacks is a     
linchpin to modern bioethics policies   
and informed consent laws that benefit  
patients nationwide by building patient 
trust and protecting research           
participants4  7#aj7 ,henrietta ,lacks' 
legacy has been recognized around the   
world through memorials1 conferences1   
museum exhibitions1 libraries1 and print
 and visual media for changing the face 
of medical science4  #c4  ,congressional
 gold medal  7a7  ,presentation         
authorized  ,the ,speaker of the ,house 
of ,representatives and the ,president  
pro tempore of the ,senate shall make   
appropriate arrangements for the        
posthumous presentation1 on behalf of   
,congress1 of a gold medal of           

appropriate design in commemoration of  
,henrietta ,lacks1 in recognition of her
 immortal cells which have made         
invaluable contributions to global      
health1 scientific research1 our quality
 of life1 and patients' rights4  7b7    
,design and striking  ,for purposes of  
the presentation referred to in         
subsection 7a71 the ,secretary of the   
,treasury 7referred to in this ,act as  
the ,secretary7 shall strike a gold     
medal with suitable emblems1 devices1   
and inscriptions1 to be determined by   
the ,secretary4  7c7  ,smithsonian      
,institution  7#a7  ,in general         
,following the award of the gold medal  
under subsection 7a71 the gold medal    
shall be given to the ,smithsonian      
,institution1 where it shall be         
available for display as appropriate and
 made available for research4  7#b7     
,sense of ,congress  ,it is the sense of
 ,congress that the ,smithsonian        
,institution should make the gold medal 
received under paragraph 7#a7 available 

for display elsewhere1 particularly at  
other appropriate locations associated  
with ,henrietta ,lacks4  #d4  ,duplicate
 medals  ,the ,secretary may strike and 
sell duplicates in bronze of the gold   
medal struck under section #c1 at a     
price sufficient to cover the costs of  
the medals1 including labor1 materials1 
dies1 use of machinery1 and overhead    
expenses4  #e4  ,status of medals  7a7  
,national medals  ,the medals struck    
pursuant to this ,act are national      
medals for purposes of chapter #ea of   
title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code4  7b7  
,numismatic items  ,for purposes of     
section #eacd of title #ca1 ,united     
,states ,code1 all medals struck under  
this ,act shall be considered to be     
numismatic items4  #f4  ,authority ,to  
use fund amounts2 proceeds of sale  7a7 
,authority ,to use fund amounts  ,there 
is authorized to be charged against the 
,united ,states ,mint ,public           
,enterprise ,fund such amounts as may be
 necessary to pay for the costs of the  

medals struck under this ,act4  7b7     
,proceeds of sale  ,amounts received    
from the sale of duplicate bronze medals
 authorized under section #d shall be   
deposited into the ,united ,states ,mint
 ,public ,enterprise ,fund4