April 17, 2018 - 10:49 AM
NEW YORK - A statue of a 19th century doctor who did experimental surgery without anesthesia on enslaved African-American women has been removed from New York's Central Park.
The city's Public Design Commission voted Monday to accept a mayoral panel's recommendation to remove the statue of Dr. J. Marion Sims, known as the father of modern gynecology.
It was removed Tuesday for relocation to Brooklyn's Green-Wood Cemetery, where Sims is buried, accompanied by signage with historical context.
The New York Times says the commission's president wept on Monday when she called for the vote.
Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio called for a review of "symbols of hate" on city property eight months ago following a white supremacist protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, that left a person dead.
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Information from: The New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com
News from © The Associated Press, 2018