Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: The Mothers of Modern Gynecology
By Hidden BrainRemembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: The Mothers of Modern Gynecology
By Hidden Brain
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There are three statues in the United States honoring Dr. James Marion Sims, a 19th-century physician dubbed the father of modern gynecology.
Invisible in his shadow are the enslaved women whom he experimented on.
Today, they are unknown and unnamed except for three: Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey.
This week, we grapple with their story and the troubling history of medical experimentation on African Americans.