When we talk about medical advancements, we often celebrate the doctors and scientists who pioneered new techniques. But what happens when those advancements were made through exploitation, suffering, and inhumane treatment?
For over a century, James Marion Sims has been glorified as the “Father of Gynecology.” However, the truth behind his medical discoveries is disturbing. His surgical techniques were developed at the expense of enslaved Black women—particularly Anarcha Westcott, a 17-year-old girl who endured over 30 painful surgeries without anesthesia.
As we honor Black History Month, we must reclaim history and acknowledge the real pioneers of gynecology—women like Anarcha, who suffered unimaginable pain so that modern medicine could advance. She is the true Mother of Gynecology.
The Hidden Truth: The Medical Exploitation of Enslaved Black Women
Who Was Anarcha Westcott?
Anarcha was an enslaved girl from Alabama in the mid-19th century. Like many enslaved Black women, she had no control over her body, no medical rights, and no legal protection. After experiencing a traumatic childbirth, she developed a vesicovaginal fistula—a condition where an abnormal connection forms between the bladder and vagina, leading to constant urine leakage.
This condition was both physically and socially devastating for women at the time. With no cure available, they often faced shame, isolation, and severe health complications.
James Marion Sims: A Man Who Built His Career on Suffering
James Marion Sims, a white Southern doctor, saw an opportunity in these suffering women. Instead of treating them with care and dignity, he used them as experimental subjects.
Sims performed roughly 30 surgeries on Anarcha—without anesthesia, pain relief, or consent. He falsely believed that Black people had a higher pain tolerance, a racist myth that still affects medical treatment today.
He operated on several other enslaved women, including Betsy and Lucy, forcing them to endure brutal experimental procedures. These women had no choice. As enslaved individuals, their bodies were not their own—they were legally owned by their enslavers and had no right to refuse medical experimentation.
Anarcha’s Strength: A Story of Survival
Despite enduring unthinkable suffering, Anarcha survived these horrific procedures. Her resilience helped Sims perfect the surgical technique that is still used today to repair vesicovaginal fistulas.
Sims went on to become famous, traveling to Europe and receiving global recognition for his work. Statues were erected in his honor. Medical institutions praised him. Yet, the women who endured his experiments were erased from history.
Anarcha did not receive recognition. She was not thanked. Instead, her pain and survival were used to uplift a man who saw her as an object, not a patient.
The Lasting Impact of Anarcha’s Story
1. Medical Racism Still Exists Today
The racist belief that Black people feel less pain persists in modern medicine. Studies show that:
Black patients are less likely to receive pain medication than white patients.
Black women are more likely to die from childbirth complications due to medical neglect.
Many medical students still believe false myths about Black bodies being different.
Anarcha’s story reminds us that medical racism is not just history—it still affects healthcare today.
2. The Ethics of Medical Advancements
Medicine has made incredible progress, but at what cost? Many medical breakthroughs were built on unethical human experimentation, especially on Black, Indigenous, and marginalized communities.
Henrietta Lacks, a Black woman, had her cancer cells taken without her knowledge—leading to the discovery of the HeLa cell line.
The Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment deliberately left Black men untreated to study the disease’s progression.
Indigenous women were forcibly sterilized in government hospitals.
Anarcha’s story is part of this painful legacy. Acknowledging this history is crucial for ethical medical practices today.
3. Reclaiming Black History: The Mother of Gynecology
Anarcha Westcott should not be remembered as just a victim—she was a pioneer. Without her, the field of gynecology would not have advanced. She survived what should have been unsurvivable.
It is time to reclaim history.
James Marion Sims is not the Father of Gynecology. Anarcha Westcott is the Mother of Gynecology.
Why We Must Keep Telling Anarcha’s Story
Black history is often sanitized, erased, or rewritten to glorify oppressors and diminish the contributions of Black individuals. But we cannot allow that to happen.
We must speak Anarcha’s name.
We must teach her story in medical schools.
We must demand justice in healthcare for Black women today.
Modern gynecology was built on the suffering, endurance, and resilience of enslaved Black women. It’s time to honor them.
