Anarcha Westcott

Anarcha Westcott (c. 1828 – unknown) was a female slave who was forced to undergo a series of painful experimental surgical procedures by J. Marion Sims to treat a combination of vesicovaginal fistula and rectovaginal fistula, without her consent or the use of anesthesia. [1]

Background

Little is known about Westcott and what is known comes from records kept by the plantation slave owner, medical journals written about Sims' work, and primary documents written by Sims himself.[2] At the time of her pregnancy Westcott was a seventeen-year-old girl living in Alabama. She had a severe form of rickets caused by a lack of vitamin D and malnutrition, which had disfigured her pelvis, making it impossible for her to give birth. She went into labor during June 1845 and after trying to give birth for three days, Sims showed up to assist her in her labor.[3]

Surgery on her fistula

After the stillbirth, Westcott was brought back to Sims because she had several unhealed tears in her vagina and rectum – a vesicovaginal fistula and rectovaginal fistula. These tears caused her to have excruciating pain, which was from her uncontrollable bowel movements flowing through her open wounds. Being unable to control her bowel movements led to infections, inflamed tissue, and odor.[3] This made Westcott a prime candidate for Sims to perform experimental surgeries on, as fistulas were fairly common among the enslaved due to malnutrition and their younger age, as they were likely to have children three years earlier than white women.[3]

Sims performed 30 experimental operations on Westcott before successfully closing the fistula and tears.[4] During the procedures, Westcott was given no anesthesia, which had recently become available.[4] Following the procedures, Sims administered opium, which was then an accepted therapeutic practice.[5] The experimental procedures that Sims performed on Westcott and other enslaved people revolutionized gynecological surgery; the technique Sims developed became the first ever treatment for vesicovaginal fistulae.[4]

Remembrance

In 2015, author J.C. Hallman became obsessed with finding Westcott. He published articles about Sims and Anarcha in Harper’s Magazine, The Montgomery Advertiser,[6] and The Baffler,[7] and his work to discover Westcott’s final resting place is featured in Josh Carples' documentary film Remembering Anarcha.[8] Hallman is working on a book entitled The Anarcha Quest, based on the first archival evidence of Westcott’s life that did not come from Sims’s own untrustworthy work.[9]

Sims controversially performed experimental surgery on black women without anesthesia.[4]

A small statue of Anarcha Westcott was erected by protestors near the statue of Sims on the grounds of the Alabama State Capitol. It was quickly stolen.[10]

See also

References
  1. "Remembering Anarcha, Lucy, and Betsey: The Mothers of Modern Gynecology". NPR.org. Retrieved June 13, 2018.
  2. Dudley, Rachel (September 26, 2012). "Toward an Understanding of the 'Medical Plantation' as a Cultural Location of Disability". Disability Studies Quarterly. 32 (4). ISSN 2159-8371.
  3. Washington, Harriet A. (2006). Medical Apartheid The Dark History of Medical Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to the Present (1st ed.). NY: Doubleday. pp. 1–501.
  4. Wall, L L (June 2006). "The medical ethics of Dr J Marion Sims: a fresh look at the historical record". Journal of Medical Ethics. 32 (6): 346. doi:10.1136/jme.2005.012559. ISSN 0306-6800. PMC 2563360. PMID 16731734.
  5. Wall, L. Lewis (July 2007). "Did J. Marion Sims deliberately addict his first fistula patients to opium?". Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences. 62 (3): 336–356. doi:10.1093/jhmas/jrl045. ISSN 0022-5045. PMID 17082217.
  6. Hallman, J. C. "J. Marion Sims and the Civil War — a rollicking tale of deceit and spycraft". The Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  7. "The Cry of Alice | J.C. Hallman". The Baffler. November 11, 2019. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  8. Carples, Josh, Remembering Anarcha (Documentary), Kirby I. Bland, Michelle Browder, LaToya Clark, Harriet E. Amos Doss, 803 Films, Carolyn Jean's Son Visions, Terrible Master Films, retrieved September 2, 2020
  9. Sayej, Nadja (April 21, 2018). "J Marion Sims: controversial statue taken down but debate still rages". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  10. Hallman, J.C. (September 28, 2018). "J. Marion Sims and the Civil War — a rollicking tale of deceit and spycraft". Montgomery Advertiser.
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