By Carl McRoy

If Dr. James Marion Sims can be considered “the father of modern gynecology,” then why shouldn’t the enslaved African American women he experimented on be considered “the mothers of modern gynecology”?

Since they were enslaved, most patients (or victims, depending on your perspective) went nameless in the annals of medical history. However, J. Marion Sims made three exceptions:

Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy

Learn their stories of suffering, servitude, and medical service in well-documented books such as Harriet A. Washington’s Medical Apartheid.

Fortunately, these women are also being acknowledged visually by artists like, USA Today 2022 Woman of the Year, Michelle Browder. But shouldn’t there be more than literary and artistic homage paid to these three mothers?

Shouldn’t the uncompensated gynecological contributions of anonymous multitudes of intergenerational, involuntary, unanesthetized, medically-exploited Black women have already paid it forward for Black women’s health in the 21st century?

Shouldn’t a society increasingly insisting that all pregnancies be carried to birth, no matter the circumstances, be required to eliminate the disparately high rates of maternal mortality and preterm births, along with low birth weights and lack of prenatal care among Black women and babies?

Doesn’t the sweat and blood equity of Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy count for something, with compounded interest?

Carl McRoy serves as the Director of Literature Ministries for the Adventist Church in North America.