An Important, but Painful, Read
4 stars
Cooper Owens combines first hand accounts and medical papers from the Antebellum period to demonstrate the tight linkage between slavery, economic interests, and science. With the wealth of slaveholders tied to the ability of them to force Black women to reproduce, this created an environment for gynecological research completely divorced from any ethical considerations. Importantly, as the field developed there were standard ethical statements that the American Medical Association put out that slaves should have to consent to any treatments, but this was not followed up by any sanctions or serious consideration in the field. There are a lot of shocking and awful practices examined in this book which makes it a tough read, but it is essential for those who want to understand the inextricable link between science, business, and ethics. Highly recommend.