Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
J. Marion Sims (1813-1884) has been called the Father of Gynecology for his revolutionary approach to treating the diseases of women. He rose from humble origins to become a successful surgeon, teacher, and writer. His innovations included the first successful treatment for vesicovaginal fistula, the first gallbladder surgery, and the introduction of antiseptic principles in all areas of surgical treatment. The Sims position and Sims speculum are eponymic tributes to his accomplishments. In recent years Sims has, however, become a focus of controversy because of his experimental surgeries on slave women. His powerful personality and messianic attitude led him to minimize moral problems, and to bristle against opposition. Ethical principles of autonomy and beneficence are important criteria for evaluating Sims' research. An exploration of the nature of Sims' work and the atmosphere in which he practiced will illuminate the critical ethical questions surrounding Sims' use of slave women as experimental subjects.
Introduction
J. Marion Sims (1813-1884) has been called The Father of Gynecology, and was the first physician to have a statue erected in his honor in the United States. During his lifetime he treated European royalty and was rivaled only by William Osler in his reputation abroad. He is credited with originating the first successful treatment for vesicovaginal fistula, a common and odious condition in the mid-1800s. He made great strides in introducing antisepsis into the surgical modus operandi. Every day physicians refer to the Sims position and use the Sims speculum, eponymic tributes to his accomplishments.
In recent years, however, Sims has become increasingly famous as a focus of controversy. From 1845 to 1849 he carried out a series of experimental surgeries on slave women that would bring him fame and fortune, as well as controversy. Indeed, controversy dogged him throughout life, even as his reputation grew, fueled by his forceful personality and self-righteousness. It is certainly ironic that an icon of medicine like Sims could be mentioned in the same context as Nazi medical experimenters and the authors of the notorious Tuskegee study on syphilis.[1] An exploration of this apparent paradox reveals as much about the state of medicine during Sims' lifetime as about the man himself.
South Med J. 2004;97(5) © 2004 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins
