By Heidi Downes, Queen Mary University of London — The Conversation UK — 20 October 2020
A midwife has launched a petition calling for a permanent sculpture to honour three enslaved Black women — Anarcha, Lucy and Betsey — who were used as experimental subjects by 19th century gynaecologist Marion James Sims, dubbed the “father of gynaecology.” Anarcha, aged just 17, suffered up to 30 brutal operations without anaesthesia, as Sims believed Black people did not feel pain like white people. Some of the gynaecological techniques and tools Sims developed, including the “Sims position” and the Sims speculum, are still used today. The petition has over 8,500 signatures. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has acknowledged the petition and launched an equality taskforce to explore racial disparities in women’s healthcare.