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Uncovering the dark history of gynecology and reproductive health in America

J. Marion Sims: Gynecologic Surgeon, from "The History of Medicine", painted by Robert Thom, from the collection of Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, UMHS.30
Robert Thom
/
Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan
J. Marion Sims: Gynecologic Surgeon, from "The History of Medicine", painted by Robert Thom, from the collection of Michigan Medicine, University of Michigan, UMHS.30

Mortality rates among American Indian and Black women are three times higher than the rate for white women. To understand the racial disparities we see in today’s healthcare system, it could be worth examining the past.

Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens is part of a growing group of historians examining the history of race and medicine. She joins us for the hour.

In her book Medical Bondage: Race, Gender, and The Origins of American Gynecology, she explores the early history of reproductive healthcare, where enslaved women were subject to forced experimentation and operations, without anesthesia.

Later, we learn about the Hear Her Campaign.

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Tess is a senior producer for Connecticut Public news-talk show Where We Live. She enjoys hiking Connecticut's many trails and little peaks, knitting, gardening and writing in her seven journals.
Catherine is the Host of Connecticut Public’s morning talk show and podcast, Where We Live. Catherine and the WWL team focus on going beyond the headlines to bring in meaningful conversations that put Connecticut in context.
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