The Beauty in Breaking

This chapter tells the story of Dominic Thomas, a young Black man whom four police officers brought into her hospital, claiming they saw him swallow bags of drugs after a raid. While the officers and even one of Harper’s fellow doctors all told Dominic that he must undergo an examination, Harper advocated for him, pointing out that he was not required by law to undergo an examination against his will. No matter the outcome, no patient in the US is required to accept medical treatment. The officers—and Harper’s colleague—were incredulous at her stance, doubting her expertise and questioning the ethics of her decision. However, Harper stood her ground, confident that she was accurate in her interpretation of the law. She reminded her colleague of precedents that allowed for the refusal of treatment, such as parents refusing to vaccinate their children or a Jehovah’s Witness who refuses a life-saving blood transfusion.

Reflecting on this incident of a Black man being coerced into medical treatment against his will, Harper recalls two disturbing incidents of racism in medical care. In the Tuskegee syphilis experiment, J. Marion Sims, known as the father of modern gynecology, performed experiments on enslaved Black women to perfect his techniques for white women. In another case, Dr. Albert Kligman experimented on imprisoned Black men, perpetrating horrific acts on their bodies in the name of science and medical innovation. Harper laments having to fight the system she works in to be an ally for Dominic or anyone else who would refuse treatment: “Dominic Thomas brought me back to the reason I had chosen to become a physician: Being a healer is the powerful gift of bearing witness in an authentic way that allows us to mindfully choose who we are” (111). After Dominic’s discharge, Harper goes home and emails her boss to submit her resignation—it was again time for her to start anew.