Congressmen file bill honoring Henrietta Lacks, whose ‘immortal’ HeLa cells have led to medical breakthroughs

Three Maryland lawmakers want to posthumously recognize Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman whose cancer cells have been used for decades in research and paved the way for immense medical breakthroughs and disease treatments. Maryland’s U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D) and Ben Cardin (D) and Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-7th) have filed legislation to award Lacks the Congressional Gold Medal for her contributions to medicine, as her endlessly dividing cancer cells have led to breakthroughs in a multitude of medical discoveries in the treatment of many cancers, blood disorders, other diseases and HIV.