May 22, 2025
Mr. Van Hollen (for himself and Ms. Alsobrooks) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Henrietta Lacks, in recognition of her immortal cells which have made invaluable contributions to global health, scientific research, our quality of life, and patients’ rights.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Henrietta Lacks Congressional Gold Medal Act
.
Sec. 2. Findings
Congress finds the following:
(1)
Henrietta Lacks, an African-American woman born on August 1, 1920, in Roanoke, Virginia, was raised by her grandfather on a tobacco farm in Clover, Virginia.
(2)
Henrietta Lacks, her husband, and family moved to Baltimore, Maryland in 1941 seeking economic opportunity at the Bethlehem Steel Plant.
(3)
In 1951, Henrietta Lacks sought treatment for her continuous vaginal bleeding from The Johns Hopkins Hospital, which was one of the few hospitals willing to treat African Americans at that time. Gynecologists discovered a large, malignant tumor on her cervix.
(4)
Unbeknownst to Henrietta Lacks or her family, medical researchers took samples of Henrietta Lacks’ tumor during her treatment without her consent. Henrietta Lacks’ cells, now known as HeLa Cells
, doubled every 20 to 24 hours whereas other human cells died in the same time period. The HeLa Cells are the first known immortal line of human cells in history.
(5)
On October 4, 1951, 31-year-old Henrietta Lacks died of an aggressive cervical cancer eight months after her cancer diagnosis, leaving behind her husband and 5 children.
(6)
The HeLa immortal cell line is the oldest and most used human cell line used in scientific research. Henrietta Lacks’ immortal cells have been commercialized and distributed worldwide to researchers, resulting in groundbreaking advancements in modern science and technology.
(7)
Henrietta Lacks’ prolific cells continue to replicate to this day and contribute to remarkable advances in medicine, including the development of the polio vaccine and drugs used to treat cancer, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia, leukemia, and Parkinson’s disease. HeLa cells have been used in research that has contributed to our understanding of the effects of radiation and zero gravity on human cells, and have informed research on chromosomal conditions, cancer, gene mapping, and precision medicine.
(8)
The use of HeLa cells as the foundation for biomedical research has led to several Nobel Prize winning discoveries. The National Institute of Health located over 110,000 publications that cited the use of HeLa cells between 1953 to 2018. These advances were made possible by Henrietta Lacks’ cells, yet the revenues they generated were not known to her family for more than twenty years.
(9)
Henrietta Lacks is a linchpin to modern bioethics policies and informed consent laws that benefit patients nationwide by building patient trust and protecting research participants.
(10)
Henrietta Lacks’ legacy has been recognized around the world through memorials, conferences, museum exhibitions, libraries, and print and visual media for changing the face of medical science.
Sec. 3. Congressional gold medal
(a) Presentation authorized
The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous presentation, on behalf of Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design in commemoration of Henrietta Lacks, in recognition of her immortal cells which have made invaluable contributions to global health, scientific research, our quality of life, and patients’ rights.
(b) Design and striking
For purposes of the presentation referred to in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this Act as the Secretary
) shall strike a gold medal with suitable emblems, devices, and inscriptions, to be determined by the Secretary.
(c) Smithsonian Institution
(1) In general
Following the award of the gold medal under subsection (a), the gold medal shall be given to the Smithsonian Institution, where it shall be available for display as appropriate and made available for research.
(2) Sense of Congress
It is the sense of Congress that the Smithsonian Institution should make the gold medal received under paragraph (1) available for display elsewhere, particularly at other appropriate locations associated with Henrietta Lacks.
Sec. 4. Duplicate medals
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold medal struck under section 3, at a price sufficient to cover the costs of the medals, including labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses.
Sec. 5. Status of medals
(a) National medals
The medals struck pursuant to this Act are national medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b) Numismatic items
For purposes of section 5134 of title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be considered to be numismatic items.
Sec. 6. Authority To use fund amounts; proceeds of sale
(a) 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 Act.
(b) Proceeds of sale
Amounts received from the sale of duplicate bronze medals authorized under section 4 shall be deposited into the United States Mint Public Enterprise Fund.