By Rodney LaBruce

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health is the most shocking and the most inhumane.” — Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

This article is part of a larger series where I lay out the moral, historical, and institutional foundations for reparations in America. Reparations are not merely about a check; they are about a comprehensive reckoning with a pattern of exploitation that has devalued Black lives for centuries. To understand why reparations are a necessity, we must look at one of the most disturbing chapters of our national story: the systemic abuse of Black bodies in the name of medicine.

1. The "Father" of Gynecology and His Victims

The history of modern gynecology is built upon the suffering of the enslaved. Dr. J. Marion Sims is often celebrated for surgical breakthroughs, but between 1845 and 1849, those breakthroughs were perfected through the torture of at least ten enslaved Black women, including Anarcha, Betsey, and Lucy.

Sims performed repeated experimental surgeries on these women without anesthesia, fueled by the racist pseudo-scientific belief that Black people felt less pain. Lucy nearly died from a procedure; Sims described her agony in detached, clinical terms, focusing only on the months it took him to "cure" her. While his statue was finally removed from Central Park in 2018, the physical and emotional trauma inflicted on these women was never compensated.

2. From Tuskegee to Eugenics: State-Sponsored Betrayal

The abuse did not end with the abolition of slavery; it was institutionalized. For forty years (1932–1972), the U.S. government conducted the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, where hundreds of Black men were lied to and denied life-saving penicillin—even after it became the standard cure—just so researchers could observe the "natural" progression of the disease.

In the mid-20th century, exploitation took the form of eugenics. Tens of thousands of Americans—disproportionately Black and poor—were forcibly sterilized. Civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer was one of many subjected to a "Mississippi Appendectomy"—a hysterectomy performed without her knowledge or consent during a routine procedure. During this same era, Black patients in St. Louis were exposed to radioactive substances under the guise of "air quality testing."

3. Exploiting the Vulnerable: Children and DNA

The 1990s proved that these ethics had not yet evolved. In New York City, researchers administered fenfluramine—a drug later linked to heart valve damage—to over 100 predominantly Black and Hispanic boys (ages 6 to 10) to test for links between serotonin and "aggressive behavior." These children were selected specifically because their older siblings had "delinquent" histories.

Around the same time, foster children—largely Black and Latino—were enrolled in risky HIV drug trials without proper legal advocacy or informed consent.

Then there is the case of Henrietta Lacks. In 1951, her cancer cells were harvested without her knowledge. While her "HeLa" cells revolutionized modern medicine and generated billions in profits for pharmaceutical companies, her family lived for decades in poverty, unable to afford the very healthcare her cells helped create.

4. The Legacy: Modern Medical Bias

The devaluation of Black lives is not a relic of the past; it is a current clinical reality. The data remains staggering:

MetricDisparity StatisticMaternal MortalityBlack women are 3.2 times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women.Pain ManagementBlack patients are 22% less likely to receive any pain medication for the same injuries as white patients.Medical AlgorithmsA 2019 study found an algorithm used on 200 million people gave white patients higher priority for care than Black patients with the same health needs.

A 2016 study found that 50% of white medical students still held at least one false biological belief about racial differences in pain, such as the idea that Black people have "thicker skin" or "less sensitive nerve endings."

5. The Path Forward: Medical Justice

If reparations are to be meaningful, they must include a commitment to Medical Justice. This is not about guilt; it is about institutional responsibility. We demand:

• Guaranteed Healthcare: Comprehensive coverage for the descendants of those systemically harmed by medical exploitation.
• Truth and Education: Mandatory curriculum in all medical schools that teaches the full history of medical racism.
• Algorithmic Audits: Federal oversight to ensure medical software and AI do not prioritize patients based on race.
• Community Investment: Direct funding into community health systems in historically ignored Black neighborhoods.

Justice too long delayed is justice denied. The bodies we are fighting for today deserve a system that sees their humanity, acknowledges their history, and protects their future.