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Critics: Remove statue of doctor who experimented on slaves

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

A tour bus drives past the Central Park statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims today in New York. Critics want New York City to remove the statue in Central Park that honors the doctor who used slaves in developing a pioneering approach to treating physical problems women can develop after childbirth, a call that has gotten louder and gained urgency in the wake of violence that followed a white nationalist rally over the removal of a Confederate statue and sparked national discussions about what should be displayed and honored in the public square.

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ASSOCIATED PRESS

A man looks at the Central Park statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims today in New York. Critics want New York City to remove the statue in Central Park that honors the doctor who used slaves in developing a pioneering approach to treating physical problems women can develop after childbirth.

NEW YORK >> Critics want New York City to remove a statue in Central Park that honors a doctor who used slaves in developing a pioneering approach to treating physical problems women can develop after childbirth.

City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is among those calling for the removal of the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims.

Sims was a 19th century physician who used slave women to develop his surgical technique to repair fistulas and operated on these women without anesthesia.

The removal of Confederate statues sparked a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, this month. An anti-racist demonstrator was killed when a car drove into a crowd protesting the rally.

Following that violence, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said officials would review “symbols of hate” on city property.

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