Medicine Case

Does racism still exist today? Although many believe it was a problem in the past, it still exists today. Many People are still not aware that it still exists in our workforces, especially in medical field. Although racism in medicine can be very offense, it can sometimes be beneficial and help reveal differences in diseases based on genetic make up. These differences can be taken in the wrong manner and can lead to social problems especially if these distinctions are thought of as ethnic differences. In Gregg M. Bloche's article. "Race, Money and Medicine", he states that we should erase racial categories from medicine but only use them if they are beneficial for the patient's health. Peter Clark, author of "Prejudice and the Medical Profession: A Five Year Update", explains that racial categories should be understood because understand these different can be beneficial. Lynne D. Richardson and Marlaina Norris, authors of "Access to Health and Health Care: How Race and Ethnicity Matter", also believe that these differences can be beneficial but want to improve the health are because they know a majority of minorities do not receive proper health care and treatment. Rebecca Skloot, author of "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks", pays attention to the fact that her character, Henrietta Lacks, was not given the proper treatment and care she should have. Although Henrietta's cells were beneficial to cancer research , she never once gave consent to the doctor's to distribute her cells. She was taken advantage of because of her race and low income. Minorities' opinions and beliefs should be taken into perspective because they often feel neglected which causes a sense of "distrust". There has been a vast history of racism in the medical field which still causes major problems today. Unequal treatments and opportunities, deception from medical professionals and access to adequate health care have led the minorities to feel neglected which often makes them question their medical professionals and their treatments. People should not feel this way when entering a hospital or doctors office. They should feel like they are going to be given the best care and treatments possible. It is important to recognize the causes of this problem to create a solution.

Like previously stated, there has been a vast history of racial issues particularly in the medical field. These issues have led to minorities, especially African Americans, to not trust medical professionals and procedures. A study found in the Archives of Internal Medicine gives shocking results by stating that "African Americans were far less trusting than whites of the medical establishment and medical researchers in particular. African Americans were 79.2 percent more likely to believe that someone like them would be used as a guinea pig without his or her consent" (Clark 118). There are many cases in the past which would make a minority feel neglected and like a "guinea pig". For instance, Henrietta Lacks, the main character of Rebecca Skloot's book, was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 1951. Her doctors were shocked at the terrifying rate her tumor was growing (Skloot 117). Her cells were taken from her cervix and they were distributed world wide without her or her family's consent. The distribution went on for years even after her death yet her family knew nothing. Although her cells are beneficial and have helped with many things such as advancing cancer studies and research, her family received nothing (Skloot 128). Another major case of racial discrimination was the Tuskegee Syphilis Study. A large group of African American men were injected with the syphilis virus and were never cured. Although medical professionals knew penicillin would cure the virus, they just watched the infected men suffer and die (Skloot 50). These are just a few instances have led to minorities to believe that they are used as an experimental subject or nothing at all.

Everyone should be treated equally and be given equal opportunities. Although the Civil Rights Movement ended decades ago, racist instances still happen today, especially when dealing with medicine. It is necessary for medicines to be tested on patients to ensure that they will be cured. Although some minorities are tested, they are not always represented in medical trials (Clark 118). Bloche states that is more likely that white Americans will be more willing to test new medicines than African Americans (Bloche 557). He also explains that prescription drugs must be tested on different ethnic groups to see the different side effects. Once they are shown to work on the different groups they are able to be produced (Bloche 557). This proves that minorities have trust issues with trying new treatments because of their knowledge of past cases when they were neglected . They also know that they will not always get the adequate treatment and care they need. This can be an issue because if a drug is not produced, it can affect other people who are suffering from diseases that can actually have a treatment. Clark's beliefs are opposite of Bloche's because he believes that minorities are often never given the proper opportunities. Clark claims that minorities are 200 percent more likely to perceive harm coming from participating in research (Clark 125).He also states that "62.8 percent of African Americans (versus 38.4 percent of whites) believe that physicians often prescribe medication as a way of experimenting on people without consent" (Clark 118). This statement is true in Henrietta Lacks' case. She was not treated adequately for her cervical cancer and was actually hardly treated at all (Skloot 128). Equal treatment and opportunity are still major issues that still occur today. If people are questioning their medical aid and not seeking proper care for their illness they are also putting other people at higher health risk (Bloche 557). If a person is not treated fairly one begins to doubt others more often. Unequal treatment among minorities is not the only issue that racial discrimination in the medicine faces.

Deception is