Medical Miracles: Lawmakers push for congressional award for Henrietta Lacks
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- There's a push to recognize a medical pioneer in Washington on Wednesday. Henrietta Lacks is known around the world for her remarkable contributions to medicine.
Now, some lawmakers are suggesting a more concrete reward.
A congressional honor is being considered for Henrietta Lacks. That many feel is long overdue.
"We are so glad that finally, the world is getting to know all about Henrietta Lacks," Kim Lacks said.
More than 70 years after her death, Henrietta Lacks' mark on medical research lives on. A remarkable impact that her family and a group of lawmakers want to honor with the congressional gold medal.
Eighty-eight-year-old Lawrence Lacks is Henrietta's only living child.
"She gave so much over most of her life making everybody happy and well-being and get better health," Lawrence Lacks said.
Henrietta Lacks was a cancer patient at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore in the 1950s, when doctors removed tissue samples for research without her consent.
Her cells became the first human cell line to reproduce indefinitely, becoming a critical research tool for the development of vaccines and medical treatments to this day.
Her grandson, Ron, wrote a book about her life.
Her impact was medical miracles," Ron Lacks said. "To be here today and how everybody's listening to the Lacks family story is amazing in itself."
Lacks family and lawmakers are now pushing to honor her legacy and raise awareness about the recognition she was denied in her lifetime.
"I'm hurt today, filled with joy but hurt," Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee said. "To this family, I want to simply, publicly apologize. This should have never happened."
Decades later, they say it's time to fully recognize Henrietta Lacks life-saving contributions to science.
The Lacks family is suing the biotech company Thermo Fisher saying the company has made millions from mass-producing Henrietta Lacks' cells for decades.