C. Everett Koop: Difference between revisions

'''Charles Everett Koop''' (October 14, 1916&nbsp; – February 25, 2013)<ref name="Bloomberg death"/><ref name="USA Today death"/> was an American [[pediatric surgeon]] and public health administrator. He was a [[Vice admiral (United States)|vice admiral]] in the [[U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps]],<ref name="Bloomberg death"/> andwho served as the 13th [[Surgeonsurgeon Generalgeneral of the United States]] under President [[Ronald Reagan]] from 1982 to 1989. According to the [[Associated Press]], "Koop was the only surgeon general to become a household name" due to his frequent public presence around the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s.<ref name="Washington Post death">{{cite news|title=Highlights of career of C. Everett Koop, only surgeon general to become a household name|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/highlights-of-career-of-c-everett-koop-only-surgeon-general-to-become-a-household-name/2013/02/25/2a4a9118-7fab-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214115103/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/highlights-of-career-of-c-everett-koop-only-surgeon-general-to-become-a-household-name/2013/02/25/2a4a9118-7fab-11e2-a671-0307392de8de_story.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 14, 2018|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 25, 2013|access-date=August 25, 2017}}</ref>

Koop was born in [[Brooklyn]], New York, the only child of John Everett Koop (1883–1972), a banker and descendant of 17th-century Dutch settlers, and Helen (née Apel) Koop (1894–1970).<ref name="NYT death forceful">{{cite news|last=Noble|first=Holcomb B.|date=February 25, 2013|title=C. Everett Koop, Forceful Surgeon General, Dies at 96|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/us/c-everett-koop-forceful-surgeon-general-dies-at-96.html}}</ref> He attended and graduated from Flatbush School.<ref>[{{cite web | url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/qq/feature/biographical-overview] | title=Biographical Overview | date=March 12, 2019 }}</ref> In 1937, he earned his Bachelor of Arts in zoology degree from [[Dartmouth College]],<ref name="VTDigger-Valley News"/> where he was given the nickname "Chick" (occasionally used for his first name, Charles, but here an allusion to a [[chicken coop]]).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/QQ/B/B/D/N/ |title=&#91;C. Everett Koop with President Ronald Reagan&#93; &#91;1980s&#93; |publisher=US National Institutes of Health |date=June 25, 2003 }}</ref> His interest in medicine followed a year in the hospital after a childhood skiing accident and [[brain hemorrhage]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/medicine-obituaries/10039099/C-Everett-Koop.html|title=Obituaries:C Everett Koop|work=The Daily Telegraph|date=5 May 2013|access-date=7 May 2013}}</ref> He earned his [[Doctor of Medicine|MD]] degree from [[Weill Cornell Medical College|Cornell Medical College]] in 1941 and [[Doctor of Science]] degree in medicine from the [[Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania|University of Pennsylvania]] in 1947.<ref name="Dartmouth School of Medicine bio"/>

While a surgeon in Philadelphia, Koop performed groundbreaking surgical procedures on [[conjoined twins]], invented techniques which today are commonly used for infant surgery, and saved the lives of countless children who otherwise might have been allowed to die. He invented anesthetic and surgical techniques for small bodies and metabolisms and participated in the separation of several sets of conjoined twins whose condition other physicians at the time considered hopeless. He first gained international recognition in 1957 by the separation of two female pygopagus infants (conjoined at the [[Human pelvis|pelvis]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nlm.nih.gov/hmd/conjoined/separation.html |title=From 'Monsters' to Modern Medical Miracles – Separation Surgeries (20th century-presentcentury–present) |publisher=Nlm.nih.gov |access-date=September 23, 2009}}</ref> and then, again, in 1974 by the separation of two ischiopagus twins (conjoined at the [[Vertebral column|spine]]) sharing a liver, colon, and parts of the intestines with their entire trunks merged.

Koop was active in publishing articles in the medical literature. Koop later wrote that: {{blockquote|Each day of those early years in pediatric surgery I felt I was on the cutting edge. Some of the surgical problems that landed on the operating table at Children's had not even been named. Many of the operations I performed had never been done before. It was an exuberant feeling, but also a little scary. At times I was troubled by fears that I wasn't doing things the right way, that I would have regrets, or that someone else had performed a certain procedure successfully but had never bothered to write it up for the medical journals, or if they had I couldn't find it.<ref>{{cite book|last=Koop|first=Charles Everett|title=Koop: The Memoirs of America's Family Doctor|publisher=HarperPaperbacks|date=March 1, 1993|pages=127|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=czrZOVnx3EQC|access-date=February 26, 2013|isbn=9780061042492}}</ref>}} Koop helped rectify this by publishing his own findings and results. Additionally, he became the first editor of the ''Journal of Pediatric Surgery'' when it was founded in 1966.<ref name="Dartmouth School of Medicine bio"/>

In 1976, Koop wrote ''The Right to Live, The Right to Die'', setting down his strong opposition to abortion and euthanasia.<ref name="NIH2"/> Koop also took some time off from his surgical practice to make a series of films with conservative Christian apologists [[Frank Schaeffer]] and his father [[Francis Schaeffer]] in 1978, entitled ''Whatever Happened to the Human Race?'' based on the book of the same title that was previously written by the elder Schaeffer.<ref name="NIH2"/> Frank Schaeffer and his associate, Jim Buchfuehrer provided a private, five hour screening to [[Jack Kemp|U.S. Rep. Jack Kemp]] and wife Joanne on their home that, according to Frank Schaeffer's account of the late evening and early morning event in his book ''Crazy for God'', led to both the Schaeffers and Koop obtaining "...access to everyone in the Republican Party".<ref>Schaeffer, Frank. ''Crazy for God: How I Grew Up as One of the Elect, Helped Found The Religious Right, and Lived to Take All (or Almost All) of It Back''. Carrol & Graf Publishers, 2007, pp. 284-285284–285.</ref>

Koop, an opponent of abortion, resisted pressure from the [[Presidency of Ronald Reagan|Reagan administration]] in 1987 to prepare a report stating that abortion was psychologically harmful to women.<ref name="NYT abortion">{{cite news|title=U.S. Data on Abortion Censored, House Unit Says|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/12/11/us/us-data-on-abortion-censored-house-unit-says.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 11, 1989}}</ref> He said it was not a public health issue but a moral one.<ref name="Bloomberg death">{{cite newscitation|author1-last=Schoifet|author1-first=Mark|title=C. Everett Koop, Surgeon General Who Took on Tobacco, Dies at 96|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/c-everett-koop-surgeon-general-who-took-on-tobacco-dies-at-96.html|newspaperurl-access=subscription|work=Bloomberg.com|date=February 25, 2013 <!--16:00 GMT-->|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130228211719/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-25/c-everett-koop-surgeon-general-who-took-on-tobacco-dies-at-96.html|archive-date=February 28, 2013|url-status=live}}</ref> Koop assigned an assistant, George Walter, the task of researching the matter. Walter obtained a list of articles from the [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] (CDC), authored mostly by CDC abortion-surveillance staff, and consulted with [[Alan Guttmacher Institute]] personnel. Walter wrote a draft report on his findings and gave it to Koop.

* {{cite web|year=1983|title=The Health Consequences of Smoking: Cardiovascular Disease (1983)|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/NN/B/B/T/D/|access-date=October 17, 2011|publisher=Profiles.nlm.nih.gov}}

* {{cite web|date=September 26, 2005|title=Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of Progress: A Report of the Surgeon General: 1989 Executive Summary (1989)|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/NN/B/B/X/S/|access-date=October 17, 2011|publisher=Profiles.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref> including the first report on the health consequences of involuntary tobacco smoke exposure. During Koop's tenure as Surgeon General, smoking rates in the United States declined significantly from 38% to 27%.<ref>{{cite web|author1=Mike Stobbe|author2=Connie Cass|date=February 26, 2013|title=C. Everett Koop, 'Rock Star' Surgeon General, Dies|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/everett-koop-surgeon-general-dies-nh-18592170|access-date=February 26, 2013|work=ABC News|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>

Koop was Surgeon General when public health authorities first began to take notice of [[AIDS]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/spotlight/qq/feature/biographical|title=Biographical Overview|date=March 12, 2019|website=C. Everett Koop -– Profiles in Science}}</ref> For his first four years in office, Koop, the nation's top health officer, was prevented from addressing this health crisis, for reasons he insisted were never fully clear to him but that were no doubt political.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 22, 1986|title=The C. Everett Koop Papers: AIDS, the Surgeon General, and the Politics of Public Health|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/retrieve/Narrative/QQ/p-nid/87|access-date=April 26, 2013|publisher=Profiles.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref> Koop wrote the official U.S. policy on the disease, and in 1988 he took unprecedented action in [[Understanding AIDS|mailing AIDS information to every U.S. household]].<ref>[https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/QQBDRL.pdf Understanding AIDS – A Message from the Surgeon General]. Profiles.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved on 2013-02-27.</ref> Gay activists and their supporters were unhappy with the way in which he targeted gay sex and the risk of infection through anal sexual intercourse as primary vectors of the disease, but Koop was unapologetic, claiming such activities entail risks several orders of magnitude greater than other means of transmission. Religious activists, upset over the pamphlet's frank discussion of sexual practices and advocacy of condom use, called for Koop's resignation.<ref>{{cite web|date=October 22, 1986|title=The C. Everett Koop Papers: AIDS, the Surgeon General, and the Politics of Public Health|url=https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/retrieve/Narrative/QQ/p-nid/87|access-date=September 23, 2009|publisher=Profiles.nlm.nih.gov}}</ref> Koop also infuriated some former supporters by advocating sex education in schools, possibly as early as the third grade, including later instruction regarding the proper use of condoms to combat the spread of AIDS. While a straightforward telling to the public about the disease was controversial, Koop was also criticized by some health activists who claimed that his office had not gone far enough in attempting to develop a cure or vaccine, reducing the role of his office to educating the public on health concerns.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}}

These four issues, combined with Koop's personality and his willingness to make use of mass media, brought to the office of Surgeon General a higher public profile than it previously had merited; he is, for instance, the first Surgeon General to have been the subject of a popular song – "[[Broadway the Hard Way#Music and lyrics|Promiscuous]]" by [[Frank Zappa]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/promiscuous-mt0028793613|title = Promiscuous - Frank Zappa &#124; Song Info &#124; AllMusic| website=[[AllMusic]] }}</ref> He was interviewed by [[Ali G]] for comedic effect.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Windolf |first=Jim |title=Ali G For Real REAL |url=https://archive.vanityfair.com/article/2004/8/ali-g-for-real |access-date=2024-03-13 |website=Vanity Fair {{!}} The Complete Archive |language=en-US}}</ref>

Koop was well known for his [[Shenandoah (beard)|mustache-less beard]] and colorful [[bow tie]]s.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}} He was a [[Vice admiral (United States)|vice admiral]] in the [[U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps]] (U.S. PHSCC).<ref name="Bloomberg death"/> During much of his day-to-day work, Koop wore the Surgeonsurgeon Generalgeneral's USU.S. Public Health Service Commissioned CorpsPHSCC uniform, a uniform similar to that of a [[United States Navy|U.S. Navy]] [[Vice admiral (United States)|Vicevice Admiraladmiral]]'s in the [[U.S. Navy]]. During his tenure, he re-instated the daily wearing of the PHS uniform by the officers of the PHS.{{Citation needed|date=July 2020}}

In 1999, while testimonytestifying before Congress, Koop minimized concerns from health groups about the severity of allergies relating to the use of latex gloves.<ref name="Bloomberg death" /> It was later discovered that a company that manufactured latex gloves had previously paid Koop $650,000 for consulting work.<ref name="Bloomberg death" />

Remarking on Koop's death, [[American Medical Association]] president Jeremy Lazarus commented, "Because of what he did, and the way he did it, he had a dramatic impact on public health."<ref name=rembering>{{cite magazine|title=Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop, America's Doctor|author=Alice Park|date=February 27, 2013|magazine=TIMETime|url=http://healthland.time.com/2013/02/27/remembering-dr-c-everett-koop-americas-doctor/|access-date=February 27, 2013}}</ref> The Associated Press called his impact "great",<ref name="slate"/> while ''[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]]'' called him "a courageous and brilliant pediatric surgeon who pioneered techniques ... and became an outspoken surgeon general".<ref name="Inquirer">{{cite news|title=GALLERYGallery : C. Everett Koop, 96, former surgeon general with deep Philadelphia roots|author=Andy Wallace|work=The Philadelphia Inquirer|date=February 26, 2013|url=http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20130226_C__Everett_Koop__96__former_surgeon_general_with_deep_Philadelphia_roots.html}}</ref> Writing for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', [[Michael Specter]] said, "I don't think I have ever met anyone for whom I had more respect... In this era, during which progress, facts, and science are under unrelenting siege, it is thrilling to remember that even ideologues can love the truth."<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Postscript: C. Everett Koop, 1916-20131916–2013|author=Michael Specter|magazine=The New Yorker|date=February 26, 2012|url=http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2013/02/postscript-c-everett-koop-1916-2013.html|access-date=February 27, 2012|author-link=Michael Specter}}</ref>

*In ''[[The Simpsons]]'' season 5, episode 1 "[[Homer's Barbershop Quartet]]", Koop is mentioned in the episode as the subject of a song sung by Homer's group.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://decider.com/2017/10/01/the-5-best-simpsons-premieres-and-where-to-stream-them/ | title=The 5 Best 'Simpsons' Premieres and Where to Stream Them &#124; Decider | date=October 2, 2017 }}</ref> '' [[The Simpsons]] '' season 12, episode 16 ''[[Bye Bye Nerdie]]'' features Koop as a member of the audience in the final scene, where Lisa demonstrates her findings about bullies.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://simpsonswiki.com/wiki/Bye,_Bye,_Nerdie/Appearances| title=Bye, Bye, Nerdie/Appearances}}</ref>

* In the ''[[King of the Hill]]'' season 1, episode 6, "Hank's Unmentionable Problem", Peggy watches an advertisement on TV featuring C. Everett Koop. Later she dreams of Hank's funeral, in which C. Everett Koop is giving the eulogy. In season 9, episode 3, "Death Buys a Timeshare", Cotton asks Bill who he thinks is uglier, Hank's wife or C. Everett Koop

* [[Public Health Service Meritorious Service Medal]]

* [[Surgeon General's Exemplary Service Medal]]

* [[Public Health Service Citation Medal]]

* [[Public Health Service Outstanding Unit Citation]]

* [[Public Health Service Foreign Duty Service Award]]

* [[Public Health Service Regular Corps Ribbon]]

* [[Association of Military Surgeons of the United States]] with gold star

* [[Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism]] (1991)<ref name="NYT Albert Schweitzer Prize">{{cite news|last=BROZANBrozan |first=Nadine|title=Chronicle|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/10/25/style/chronicle-356691.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 25, 1991}}</ref>

* {{cite journal|last1=Fries|first1=James F.|last2=Koop|first2=C. Everett|last3=Sokolov|first3=Jacque|last4=Beadle|first4=Carson E.|last5=Wright|first5=Daniel|title=Beyond Health Promotion: Reducing Need and Demand for Medical Care|journal=Health Affairs|volume=17|issue=2|year=1998|pages=70–84|issn=0278-2715|doi=10.1377/hlthaff.17.2.70|pmid=9558786|doi-access=free}}

* [http://dms.dartmouth.edu/koop/cek/ Biography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509182151/http://dms.dartmouth.edu/koop/cek/ |date=May 9, 2008 }} from the C. Everett Koop Institute at [[Dartmouth College]]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130215140051/http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/about/previous/biokoop.html C. Everett Koop (1982-19891982–1989)] – biography from the Office of the

* [https://archive.today/20130411072906/https://www.lifestory.com/StoryDetail/SearchStoryDetail/C.%20Everett.Koop?LifeStoryID=20132_05a2313c-123f-47bf-90c7-1ce4cc4fae0c C. Everett Koop -– His Legacy] at [https://archive.today/20130411071203/https://www.lifestory.com/Home/MyStories LifeStory.com]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Koop, C. Everett}}

[[Category:American HIV/AIDS activists]]