Dr. Koop: The Many Lives of the Surgeon General

7 p.m., Mon., Nov. 3
Blanchard Hall, Room 339, 501 College Ave., Wheaton

The Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College presents "Dr. Koop: The Many Lives of the Surgeon General," a book signing by Nigel M. de S. Cameron

Dr. Koop, the evangelical Surgeon General who astonished both supporters and critics as he went after Big Tobacco, led America through the 1980s AIDS crisis, and as an octogenarian helmed DrKoop.com, the world's top healthcare website. The world's most celebrated pediatric surgeon, Koop was invited to Wheaton's 1973 Commencement. In a stunning speech, just months after Roe vs Wade, he launched the evangelical pro-life movement. Eight years later, after his collaboration with Francis Schaeffer had made him America's best-known anti-abortion physician, President Reagan appointed him Surgeon General. Activists on both sides of the abortion debate assumed he would carry on his pro-life speech-making, and were taken aback when he said no. He would focus on issues like smoking (which dropped by nearly one-quarter during his time in office) and then AIDS - where he became an unlikely hero to the gay community. There was talk of tattooing HIV-infected patients or sending them all to Alaska. He said no: God is the judge, I'm a doc and I'll save your lives. Famed ethicist Harold O.J. Brown, a Koop friend but also critic, described him as the most important evangelical in American public life since William Jennings Bryan.

Among a long list of accomplishments, Nigel M. de S. Cameron, Ph.D. has experience as President and CEO of start-up companies, served as Provost of Trinity International University, was Commissioner, U.S. National Commission for UNESCO, and written many books, his most recent Dr. Koop: The Many Lives of the Surgeon General

This event is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Jill Caballero at 630.752.5886 or CACE@wheaton.edu.