The “parents of gynecology” were serial killers

William Hunter and William Smellie are considered the fathers of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Her precise anatomical drawings of pregnancy in the 18th century allowed to lay the foundations of those two medical disciplines, and her extraordinary contributions are still recognized today.

However, according to an investigation by historian Don Shelton published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, one of the most prestigious medical journals, Hunter and Smellie reportedly ordered the killing of 35 to 40 pregnant women between 1750 and 1774. The profile they were looking for was very specific and difficult to find. They didn’t serve women who had already given birth, but only those who were about to do so.

In his work Anatomia uteri umani gravidi (Anatomy of the Pregnant Human Uterus), published in 1774, in which he records the independence of maternal-fetal circulation, Hunter recognizes that “the opportunity to dissect the wombs of pregnant women seldom occurs. Most anatomists, if they’re lucky, might only do it once or twice in their lifetime.”

Hunter and Smellie performed complete anatomical atlas of at least 35 women in the ninth month of pregnancy, “with quality and detail equivalent to 21st century forensic photographs,” something impossible to achieve with the techniques of the time.

In his article, Shelton states, “Smellie and Hunter are two worse serial killers than Jack the Ripper and Burke and Hare.” These committed 25 crimes, compared to Smellie and Hunter’s 37 — a number that would double if we also counted the babies the victims were carrying,” Shelton points out.

Hunter and Smellie were considered the two greatest pregnancy experts of their time.

Their anatomical atlases contributed to the birth of Obstetrics as a medical specialty encompassing pregnancy, childbirth and puerperio.
“They competed among themselves to establish the profession of midwife, later called Obstetrics. They wanted to raise her to the professional category. They thought that, if they developed strict anatomical atlases, they would achieve this and, on top of that, they would increase their reputation and their profits,” says Shelton.

My thoughts:
A lot of crimes to humanity were committed in man’s bid to pursue knowledge. However, we are enjoying the results or fruits of those crimes. So are we justified to term those killing crimes?

Man’s penchant for knowledge is not farfetched. If we recall the creation story and how man fell, we were told that there was a tree of life and there was the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Man forfeited the latter for the former. Man preferred not to live forever, rather to gain knowledge and die.

What am I trying to say? I am saying that God tested us. He actually gave us freewill from the beginning. We would not have been looking for cures, obstetricians and all, if only Adam and Eve in their disobedience, were thoughtful. Eat the fruit of life and you will live forever! No! They did not. They chose to eat the one fruit that would give them limited life, in exchange for knowledge.

You are welcome to share your thoughts about my view on this.