In 19th-century America, Dr. James Marion Sims was once hailed as the "father" of modern gynecology. Today, however, American society is embroiled in fierce debate as it comes to light that his groundbreaking achievements were built upon the sacrifice of enslaved Black women. As a man myself, I hesitated to point out the contradictions of a fellow man, yet this is a story that must be told.

Dr. Sims first established his practice after the tragic deaths of his first two infant patients, moving to Alabama in 1835. Having left his hometown on the 13th, he came to regard 13 as his lucky number—coincidentally, the day he passed away was also November 13, 1883.

In 19th-century Montgomery, the enslaved Black population outnumbered white residents. Sims provided medical care to both white and Black women, though he once claimed, "I never wanted to be a gynecologist." Nevertheless, by treating numerous female patients, he left a lasting mark on the field. In 1845, he developed a technique for examining the vagina using a polished metal spoon—a method still known today as the "Sims' speculum."

Beginning in 1845, Sims became consumed with finding a cure for vesicovaginal fistula, a debilitating condition. He gathered enslaved Black women suffering from the ailment, but a major ethical dilemma arose: surgical anesthesia was only introduced to the medical world in 1846. Even after anesthesia became widely available, Sims chose not to administer it to his female patients, whether Black or white. The agony they endured must have been unimaginable. Anarcha, a teenage enslaved Black girl, underwent an agonizing thirty surgeries over the course of four years. Was she a patient, or a human subject?

Through Sims' relentless efforts, a successful cure for vesicovaginal fistula was finally developed, leading him to establish the Woman's Hospital in New York in 1855. By the late 19th century, statues of Marion Sims had been erected across the United States, celebrated as the first monuments dedicated to an American medical doctor. Yet today, profound questions linger: Did this white male doctor truly respect Black women? Compounding these criticisms is the historical record that this southern-born white physician once complained, "Giving Black people the right to vote is a horrific mistake."

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