Amber Isaac, was a 26-year-old first-time mother who died from HELLP syndrome during an emergency C-section on April 22nd, 2020. Just five days before her death, she reported via tweet that she was mistreated by doctors at the Montefiore hospital in the Bronx, NY.
Can’t wait to write a tell all about my experience during my last two trimesters dealing with incompetent doctors at Montefiore
— ✨ (@Radieux_Rose) April 17, 2020
According to The City, the non-profit, non-partisan publication that first reported Isaac’s story, her partner received a hospital bill of $2,000 two weeks after her death.
Isaac’s death exposes the gaps in a medical system that disproportionately kills Black women. The maternal mortality rate, or the rate at which people die while giving birth, is two to three times higher for Black and Indigenous people than it is for their white counterparts in the United States, according to the CDC.
The field of contemporary medicine has racist and white supremacist roots. Phrenologists, people who associate psychological capabilities based on the physical attributes of the skull, used the skulls of Native Americans to demonize their existence and prove that they deserved to be “exterminated” rather than “enslaved.”
American gynecology in particular reflects the practices invented by white men. J. Marion Sims, or the “Father of Gynecology”, experimented on black enslaved women. During this era, people believed that black bodies genuinely felt less pain, or that their pain tolerance was higher than their white counterparts. This false claim continues to pervade gynecology today and is found in phrases like “black people have thicker skin than white people.”
After perfecting his surgical techniques on black enslaved women, without anesthesia, Sims would provide care to the sedated white woman.
Durrenda Ojanuga’s piece, published in the Journal of medical ethics in 1993, titled The Medical Ethics of the ‘Father of Gynaecology’, Dr J Marion Sims, gives an account of Lucy, the first enslaved black woman that Sims exploited. The enslaved women were not asked if they agreed to have an operation of this nature because they were completely stripped of the right to make any decision over their bodies.
An excerpt from Bettina Judd’s poetry book patient.
The United States’ history of medical racism can still be felt by many across the country. Amber Isaac’s partner, Bruce McIntyre, recently celebrated Father’s Day on his own with their son, Elias.
Bruce McIntyre and son Elias on June 21st, 2020. Via Mama Glow
What can I do to help combat medical racism in the United States today?
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Follow the Save A Rose Foundation, founded by Bruce McIntyre, on Instagram @savearose.foundation
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Donate to The Birthing Place, Bronx here: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/birthingplacebx
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Share this article, Amber’s story and so many others like hers: Serena Williams, Allyson Felix
