人兽性交

On a quiet street in Alabama鈥檚 capital, Anarcha, Betsey and Lucy stand 15 feet tall, composed of pieces of mixed metal welded together.

They represent the enslaved Black women and girls whom art activist Michelle Browder calls the 鈥淢others of Gynecology.鈥� These girls and others were involuntarily subjected to painful experimental surgeries, without the use of anesthesia, to advance the tools and techniques that have shaped how reproductive care is provided today.

Yet no memorial bore their names until Browder erected their statues in 2021 with the help of donors, including the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Not far from where they stand in Montgomery, a monument on the state Capitol grounds honors J. Marion Sims, the man known as the 鈥淔ather of Modern Gynecology.鈥� It鈥檚 a designation that could not have been achieved without the forced participation of the enslaved women and girls on whom Sims conducted experimental procedures in Montgomery between 1848 and 1849.

鈥淓very woman who has had a Pap smear has been touched by the legacy of these girls,鈥� Browder said. 鈥淏ut we don鈥檛 speak of them.鈥�

To many, the Sims memorial, dedicated in 1939, represents a disregard for both the women who underwent his operations and the history of white supremacist brutality in the United States. Browder, the 人兽性交 and the American Medical Association (AMA) are calling for the relocation of the statue to the nearby site of his former office, where they believe his legacy can be framed in a more proper historical context.

This effort and its historical connection to the inequities in health care that Black women currently face were the focus of a three-day event that ends today. The event, Chart the Course: , was hosted by Browder and sponsored by the 人兽性交 and the AMA.

Today, the final day of the program and the start of , Browder is inviting members of the public to join her from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Bicentennial Park, only steps away from the state Capitol, to learn more about the effort to relocate the Sims statue and historically contextualize his work.

鈥淭he 鈥楳others of Gynecology鈥� help us all better understand who is deserving of historical recognition and honor,鈥� said Margaret Huang, president and CEO of the 人兽性交. 鈥淭his is why the Sims statue must be moved to a place where the true full story can be told. Most importantly, we must honor Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey, and their story must be reclaimed to inspire us all to demand an end to the health care inequities that still exist for Black women in this country.鈥�

Inequitable health care

The disparities, particularly in reproductive care, are alarming. Black women in the U.S. are about three times more likely than white women to die from childbirth, even when controlling for factors like education or income, to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some studies have found that against Black people among physicians have been associated with false notions that these patients have greater tolerance for pain, have thicker skin and feel less pain than white people.

In Alabama, hospital closures and a lack of OB-GYN providers put women and their children at grave risk. In 2022, 25 of the state鈥檚 67 counties lacked access to comprehensive OB-GYN services, while 21 had limited access to maternity care, according to a published by March of Dimes. Last month, the Alabama Hospital Association that at least 25 hospitals are at risk of closure.

Browder hosted the event for the third year to bring renewed attention to this crisis. It provided an opportunity for obstetricians, gynecologists and other medical practitioners to learn about changing the narrative on health care disparities.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a clarion call to us to do better,鈥� Browder said. 鈥淭o do that, we have to first see the truth, reckon with it and make sure that we don鈥檛 repeat it. The only way to do that is to have an honest conversation.鈥�

Museum and clinic

The site where Sims operated his practice will soon open as a clinical museum and health provider 鈥� the first of its kind in the country 鈥� known as the . Browder plans to transform the space into a teaching clinic for visiting medical students, as well as a place where low income-earning people can seek reproductive care, whether it be from a doctor, midwife or doula.

It鈥檚 a far cry from the past, when the office operated as the Negro Women鈥檚 Hospital, where plantation owners brought enslaved women who experienced vaginal fistula 鈥� a condition that prevented them from bearing children and thereby increasing a plantation owner鈥檚 labor force and wealth. Although the condition caused the women pain and incontinence, their well-being was not a consideration in the decision to seek care.

Those looking to support the clinic can visit , where Browder accepts donations and links to a supporting the relocation of the Sims monument.

鈥淢emorializing Sims is a way of covering up the history of the enslaved women who he operated on without anesthesia,鈥� said Rivka Maizlish, historian and senior research analyst at the 人兽性交. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a way of covering up their contributions by pretending that it was the sole achievement of this individual, when in fact his racism and his painful violations of Black women should not be celebrated.鈥�

Photo at top: Michelle Browder鈥檚 鈥淢others of Gynecology鈥� monument in Montgomery, Alabama, honors the Black women and girls who were subjected to painful experimental surgeries to advance the tools and techniques of reproductive care. (Credit: Hillary Hudson)