Topic > light. This helped visualize information about a person's DNA within their chromosomes. On September 13, 2001, Franklin Salisbury Jr., president of the National Cancer Research Foundation, wanted to hold the lecture on that date in Henrietta's honor. Salisbury wanted Deborah to speak and accept a plaque honoring her mother. Two days before that date the September 11 attack occurred. Rebecca and Deborah were going to leave that day to go to Washington DC for the conference, but they canceled it because they didn't think Washington DC was safe from terrorists. Deborah was upset because they had been one of the first people to recognize Henrietta's contribution to science. It was a very sad day for all of us. Johns Hopkins Hospital says it never made money from HeLa cells because George Gey gave them away. Deborah and the rest of her family still couldn't believe it. She even had trouble understanding that no one was paying Rebecca to publish the book. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom article from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Conclusion The book is about how Henrietta was a black woman born into slavery. His cells were taken without his consent and used by white scientists. As Rebecca Skloot said, “It was the story of white people selling black people, of black cultures “contaminating” white ones… It was also the story of an unaccredited black woman's cells becoming one of the most important tools in medicine.” Today's laws state that it is illegal to publish medical records without the patient's consent. If that law had been in effect in Henrietta's time, we would not be as far along in science as we are now. It is thanks to her that scientists have found a way to immortalize cells by exposing them to certain things, which is why a story like Henrietta's may never happen again.