What would Georgia’s own father of reproductive endocrinology think about government interference in women’s health care? My father, Robert Greenblatt, pioneered endocrinology as an independent discipline and formed the first department of its kind in the country at the then-Medical College of Georgia, chairing the Department of Endocrinology from 1946 to 1972.
He moved to Augusta, Georgia, in 1935, after completing his medical training at McGill University in Montreal. The magnolia trees and a warmer climate appealed to him. Once he settled into the Southern way of life, he never wanted to leave. Today, he is remembered for the development of the sequential birth control pill and the fertility drug Clomid. He treated many hormonal disorders and addressed problems related to hirsutism, endometriosis, menopause and growth. My dad dedicated his life to alleviating hormonal suffering in women and promoting a greater understanding of the factors involved.
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I watched my father live life in day-tight compartments. Each morning, he rose early and spent time in his study polishing the articles he was writing before heading to the medical college to teach. Surrounded by research fellows, he made rounds in the hospital and then saw patients in the afternoon who traveled from many parts of the world. After dinner, he would return to his study to continue working.
Over the course of his life, he wrote more than 560 original scientific papers and authored 11 books. For 18 years, he wrote the article “Advances in Endocrinology” for the yearbook Encyclopaedia Britannica. He also enjoyed writing books for the general reading public, “Search the Scriptures” and “Sex and Circumstance.” In these books, my father addressed the behavior of biblical and historical figures through the lens of an endocrinologist.
My dad thrived on presenting research papers at conferences: the Southeastern Endocrine Society and the Laurentian Hormone Meeting, among others. It was at the Laurentian Hormone Meeting that Gregory Pincus, John Rock and my father discussed oral contraception and made groundbreaking advances in reproductive endocrinology.
Lecturing and teaching was Robert Greenblatt’s lifeblood. Dad peppered his lectures with humor, which made him a beloved professor and lecturer. He loved traveling to universities abroad to lecture on endocrine disorders and the latest treatments. The opportunity to work with him attracted 12 or more research fellows each year from all over the world.
In describing to me how he came to understand which hormones prevented pregnancy and which enhanced ovulation, he said prior research was reversed and he untangled it. A wall in his office was covered with photographs of babies who had come into this world with the help of Clomid, the first fertility drug. Additionally, his work on the birth control pill gave women newfound freedom to control their reproductive cycle. He extended the sexual life of women by being an early proponent of hormone replacement therapy. He used pellets for treating menopausal women to alleviate the symptoms of menopause. Greenblatt was also known for his work in promoting growth and arresting growth in adolescents with height concerns. He employed innovative methodologies for successful outcomes.
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Now, women’s reproductive health care is on the ballot. Whether one is pro-choice or against abortion, my father would be appalled by government interference in the provision of women’s health care. Laws that prevent physicians from providing the highest standard of care for their patients are against the Hippocratic oath. Women suffering from miscarriages in states with restrictive abortion laws have died since Roe v. Wade was overturned. Doctors in Texas and other states risk jail for protecting a woman’s life. And at least two women right here in Georgia died because they couldn’t seek timely reproductive health thanks to the state’s restrictive abortion law.
My father and most physicians, I dare say, would prioritize the life of the mother over the unborn. The immeasurable harm done to women by turning abortion decisions over to state legislative bodies has stripped women of the right to make their own medical decisions and removed medical autonomy. What other freedoms could be taken away by draconian lawmakers? My dad might have asked why society is placing more emphasis on the unborn than the most vulnerable and underserved in our society.
Respected by his colleagues and the institution he served, MCG, now Augusta University, named the library in his memory: the Robert B. Greenblatt Library. Among his honors were the Honoris Causa from the University of Bordeaux, the French rank of chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the American Medical Association’s Billings Silver Medal and the Barren Foundation Gold Medal for outstanding research in human reproduction. His last honor, a few months before his death in 1987, was being named an honorary fellow by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists alongside Princess Diana.
Weeks before he died, 200 of his research fellows from around the world assembled in Augusta to pay tribute to their professor. Each one submitted an article to a medical journal in their country of origin to pay tribute to Dr. Robert Greenblatt.
Debbie Neese is a community-volunteer leader and the daughter of Robert Greenblatt.
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