In Our View: Lacks bill aims to right health care wrong The Columbian Share: Many Clark County residents likely have a passing familiarity with the remarkable story of Henrietta Lacks, thanks to a local high school. And although Lacks died in 1951, her influence continues to grow. The U.S. Senate last week passed the Henrietta Lacks Enhancing Cancer Research Act, which would require the federal government to publish a report on government-funded cancer research trials, including the amount of participation by underrepresented populations and the barriers to participation. The House passed the bill by voice vote earlier this month. Lacks, a Black woman who lived in Baltimore, was treated at Johns Hopkins Hospital for cervical cancer. Without her knowledge or consent, doctors took her cancer cells and used them for medical research. Studies found that, while most cancerous cells died quickly, Lacks’ continued to live and grow. Her cells became the first naturally “immortal” cell line from a human, reproducing indefinitely under the right conditions.