Healthcare Works Exactly as Intended

 

    
    
Nolan Hatchell-McNeil
Professor Horgan
HST 401
11 February 2026
I pledge my honor that I have abided by the Stevens Honor System.

The American healthcare industry has a multitude of problems. But for many African Americans it is a minefield of neglect, discrimination, and exclusion. A history full of exploitation and dehumanization of black bodies has been America’s first industry and it seems no different that the medical industry would follow suit. In rare cases the exploitation of black bodies leads to scientific advancement, for example Henrietta Lacks and revolutionizing cancer treatment. However what about the millions of African Americans who are not Henrietta ? What happens to their stories ? 

    During times of slavery many of slaves were used as medical material.  Smith states “Dr. Preserved Porter, who preserved Mr. Fortune’s skeleton by boiling the bones to study anatomy at a time when cadavers were taken overwhelmingly from slaves, servants and prisoners. ” The aforementioned highlights the idea that in the eyes of a white slave owner black people are nothing more than property. With this sort of history future exploitation of black bodies is intrinsic within the medical industry. Beyond slavery there has been legislation to maintain the status quo for African Americans. Smith states “Hospital limitations on care for the poor, and the refusal of many hospitals and physicians to accept Medicaid, demonstrated the link between economic and racial barriers to access.” this sort of barrier to entry has caused irreparable harm for African American communities in the 1960’s and the only the system that would support them in reducing the various epidemics in the African American community would be the civil rights organizations made by those same African Americans. The medical industry has only viewed black bodies as tools to be used then discarded as it is a system that is not rooted in saving the individual, but upholding the power structures that have already existed. We can extend this to many other ethnic minorities within America. A poignant example would be what is happens in the Latin community. Many Latin Americans often of immigrant descent have been fearful of seeking medical attention as they “experience high levels of encounters with the enforcement system” stated by Trinidad Young Et al. If the medical industry truly cared for those that needed medical attention it would be an area where those that truly need help could seek it and be assured of their safety after their care. However the medical industry as it stands is a bystander to the powers that be.

In the modern day African Americans are still being exploited, most recently a black woman named by the name of Adriana Smith who was pronounced brain dead whose body was immorally kept alive due to current administration in Georgia. There is no reason for her body to be maintained against the wishes of her family. Her situation illustrates that the Hippocratic oath is only applies to the bodies of the oppressor and never the oppressed and falls in line with subjective standards set by the ruling class. For the oppressed the threat of exploitation from the industry meant to keep you alive is an evil unlike any other. Adriana is one of many mother’s who have been neglected by the medical industry. Latoya states “As of 2023, Black people are more than three times as likely as White people to experience a pregnancy-related death (49.4 vs. 14.9 per 100,000 live births)” far exceeding the Asian and Hispanic communities. This sort of statistic exemplifies the lack of care that African Americans receive and illustrates that the medical system is flawed intrinsically as a disparity as large as 3 times is unacceptable. The biases of nurses and doctors, which ultimately stem from the period of the early dehumanization of African Americans, allows for these conditions to continue.

    The medical industry is extremely flawed and is in need of massive reformation. However no matter the effort we put into fixing this system the oppressed will remain the oppressed as where the exploitation and negligence will remain as long as there is a class to be oppressed. For people of color especially African Americans the system is working as intended and it is truly disheartening that the change needed is nigh unreachable due to the medical industry being held to the standards of those who have might rather than who will stand for what is right.






























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