Farewell, C. Everett Koop
Feb. 25th, 2013 06:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
filkertomIt's not often the phrase "Heroic Reagan Administration Official" springs to mind.
Charles Everett Koop has passed away at the age of 96. And he definitely wasn't the type you'd consider progressive by his resume: personally against homosexuality, abortion, and pre-marital sex, he nevertheless was a strong proponent of educating the public about them and defending people's rights involving them. He was especially big on informing people about AIDS at a time when not a lot was known about it. And he was virulently anti-smoking.
In other words, even though he didn't agree with them, he upheld the laws of the land. And he tried to make things safer for everyone, using his office as a bully pulpit to make people listen to actual, accurate information about hotly politicized topics.
Rest Well, Dr. Koop, and thanks.
Charles Everett Koop has passed away at the age of 96. And he definitely wasn't the type you'd consider progressive by his resume: personally against homosexuality, abortion, and pre-marital sex, he nevertheless was a strong proponent of educating the public about them and defending people's rights involving them. He was especially big on informing people about AIDS at a time when not a lot was known about it. And he was virulently anti-smoking.
In other words, even though he didn't agree with them, he upheld the laws of the land. And he tried to make things safer for everyone, using his office as a bully pulpit to make people listen to actual, accurate information about hotly politicized topics.
Rest Well, Dr. Koop, and thanks.
