Koop, Charles Everett 1916-

SURGEON GENERAL

The Nation's Family Doctor.

C. Everett Koop always knew he would grow up to be a surgeon. As a teenager in Brooklyn, he pretended to be a medical student so he could sneak into hospitals and watch operations. Koop was a renowned pediatric surgeon, known for his successes in separating Siamese twins and in surgical procedures for dealing with formerly fatal birth defects. He played a major role in stopping the 1950s practice of X-raying children's feet in shoe stores, which exposed children to harmful radiation. In the fall of 1981 he became President Reagan's surgeon general of the United States, the nation's leading spokesman on public-health issues. As a passionate evangelical Christian and foe of abortion, he became during his confirmation hearings the target of those who felt his conservative perspective made him the wrong man for the post. But by the time he resigned his post in July 1989, Dr. C....

[The entire page is 885 words long]

Join eNotes

The above is a free excerpt. Get total access to this content with the:

eNotes Pass