Cut Too Deep

In “Monumental Error” [Essay, November], J. C. Hallman unfairly skewers J. Marion Sims, the “Father of Gynecology.” He attributes to Sims a huge ego and the desire for fame, and highlights actions that are shocking by modern standards but were commonplace during the 1800s. For instance, Sims was from the South; that he once owned slaves, a point Hallman emphasizes, hardly makes him unique. Though he did practice his operations on enslaved women, he did so only on those who needed surgical intervention. He did not use anesthesia during these procedures, as noted, but anesthesia was not widely…