Dr. Koop
C. Everett Koop
Published on Feb 25, 2013
The PBS NewsHour interviewed former Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, on the anniversary of the first surgeon general’s report on smoking. Jim Lehrer interviewed Koop for a newsmaker conversation for the The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour from the surgeon general’s office in Washington on Jan. 11, 1989. Koop died Monday at the age of 96.
Dr. C. Everett Koop was appointed to the Reagan administration but was held up in the Senate in his confirmation hearings by Ted Kennedy because of his work in pro-life causes.
Memorial Tribute Former Surgeon General C.Everett Koop © A Genuine G-Shot.wmv
On 2-25-13 we lost a great man when we lost Dr. C. Everett Koop. I have written over and over the last few years quoting Dr. C. Everett Koop and his good friend Francis Schaeffer. They both came together for the first time in 1973 when Dr. Koop operated on Schaeffer’s daughter and as a result they became close friends. That led to their involvement together in the book and film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” in 1979.
Post-Birth Abortions? Who Are We Kidding?
The Journal of Medical Ethics recently published an article advocating “post-birth abortions.” Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva, who wrote the article, argue that there are many cases where women have abortions because having a child would be physically, psychologically, or economically difficult for them. But what if these hardships are not realized until after the baby is born? What if the child’s father leaves, for example, or the child is born with an unforeseen disability? Should the mother have to bear the burden of raising a child in non-ideal circumstances? Or what if the financial and organizational burden of caring for the child falls to the state?Though Giubilini and Minerva acknowledge that people with severe disabilities are often “reported to be happy,” they argue:
“to bring up such children might be an unbearable burden on the family and on society as a whole, when the state economically provides for their care. On these grounds, the fact that a fetus has the potential to become a person who will have an (at least) acceptable life is no reason for prohibiting abortion. Therefore, we argue that, when circumstances occur after birth such that they would have justified an abortion, what we call after-birth abortion should be permissible.” (emphasis original)
Medicine is one of those front lines where the specific definition of key words such as “person,” “fetus,” “justified,” “burden” and so on have huge implications. For example, why call the active murder of a baby (some advocate killing children up to a year old) “post-birth abortion”? Giubilini and Minerva explain:
“In spite of the oxymoron in the expression, we propose to call this practice ‘after-birth abortion’, rather than ‘infanticide’, to emphasize that the moral status of the individual killed is comparable with that of a fetus (on which ‘abortions’ in the traditional sense are performed) rather than to that of a child. Therefore, we claim that killing a newborn could be ethically permissible in all the circumstances where abortion would be.”
There is much here that should concern us as Christians. Rather than offering my own thoughts on this, I will share some insights that I gleaned from reading Francis Schaeffer’s book Whatever Happened to the Human Race? (co-authored by C. Everett Koop, M.D.). Schaeffer wrote this book in 1979 to call attention to the issues at stake in the growing popularity of abortion, infanticide, and euthanasia. Relevant as his words were in his day, they proved to be prophet of our time as well.
Though many were shocked that the Journal of Medical Ethics would publish such an article, this is merely the logical conclusion of people operating within a Darwinian mentality. If survival of the fittest really is the driving force behind life, then humanity has no inherent value. What value he has must be derived from his ability to survive. And if a young child stands in the way of another evolutionary being (i.e., a mother) of surviving in the way she wants to, why shouldn’t she practice survival of the fittest with her infant?
As soon as we leave behind an absolute standard of right and wrong, the inherent value of human life gets reworked, even discarded. We are left only with prevailing notions of what humanity is and ought to be. Looking at the push for abortion in the late 70s, Schaeffer says, “It all started with the acceptance of the attitude that there is such a thing as a life not worthy to be lived.”
He insightfully explains the degenerating logic that unfolds once we abandon an absolute standard of morality:
“At first we hear much talk of compassion for the unwanted. The discussion moves on to ‘rights,’ then to ‘my’ rights and soon to pure ‘economics.’ The discussion of life must be brought back to where it belongs—not to emotional, extreme examples, not to selfish questions of rights, not to expedience, and certainly not to economics. The matter should be discussed in terms of right and wrong.”
With regard to the use of language in these types of debates, do we really think we’re kidding anyone by calling the murder of young children “post-birth abortions”? Does the softened title make the act itself any less reprehensible? Yet this simple decision to not call it “baby-slaughtering” will likely go a long way towards its being perceived in a more understandable light. Schaeffer warned: “Language has power. The language we use actually forms the concepts we have and the results these concepts produce.”
I will explore some of the issues presented in Giubilini and Minvera’s article in the next two posts as well. But before I close this post, Schaeffer gives us another warning that we should take to heart:
“One wonders what the chances are for someone who becomes a burden in a society that practices the concept of the survival of the fittest and has begun this practice by starting to eliminate its children.”
______________________
In the film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” the arguments are presented against abortion (Episode 1), infanticide (Episode 2), euthenasia (Episode 3), and then there is a discussion of the Christian versus Humanist worldview concerning the issue of “the basis for human dignity” in Episode 4 and then in the last episode a close look at the truth claims of the Bible.
In this 1979 film series they dealt with the big social issues and predicted what social problems we have in the future because of humanism. For instance, they knew that the Jack Kevorkians of the world would be coming down the pike. They predicted that there was a slippery slope from abortion to infanticide to youth euthanasia brought on by the materialistic worldview.
Dr. C. Everett Koop is pictured above.
Francis Schaeffer: “Whatever Happened to the Human Race” (Episode 1) ABORTION OF THE HUMAN RACE
Published on Oct 6, 2012 by AdamMetropolis
AP
 |
| C. Everett Koop |
Related posts:
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 12 (with editorial cartoon)
Dr. C. Everett Koop on Baby Doe, euthanasia, abortion Uploaded on Nov 3, 2008 Dr. Koop answers questions on Baby Doe, euthanasia and abortion during interview at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL http://www.christianethics.org Dr. Koop On 2-25-13 we lost a great man when we lost Dr. C. Everett Koop. I have written over and over […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 11 (including editorial cartoon on abortion)
Dr. Koop Memorial Tribute Former Surgeon General C.Everett Koop © A Genuine G-Shot.wmv On 2-25-13 we lost a great man when we lost Dr. C. Everett Koop. I have written over and over the last few years quoting Dr. C. Everett Koop and his good friend Francis Schaeffer. They both came together for the first […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 10 (includes editorial cartoon about abortion)
Newsmaker Interview with Surgeon General C. Everett Koop Published on Feb 25, 2013 The PBS NewsHour interviewed former Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, on the anniversary of the first surgeon general’s report on smoking. Jim Lehrer interviewed Koop for a newsmaker conversation for the The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour from the surgeon general’s office in Washington […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 9 (Picture of Joycelyn Elders with Koop)
Dr. C. Everett Koop on Baby Doe, euthanasia, abortion Uploaded on Nov 3, 2008 Dr. Koop answers questions on Baby Doe, euthanasia and abortion during interview at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL http://www.christianethics.org Dr. Koop Joycelyn Elders was the first black Surgeon General of the USA and I have a picture of her with Dr. C. […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 8 (editorial picture about Surgeon General)
Memorial Tribute Former Surgeon General C.Everett Koop © A Genuine G-Shot.wmv Dr. Koop. C. Everett Koop Before Dr. C. Everett Koop arrived in 1981 as Surgeon General could anybody ever name who the Surgeon General was? Koop also caused lots of editorial cartoons to be drawn about him because of his positions he took on […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 7 (Public Health poster)
Newsmaker Interview with Surgeon General C. Everett Koop Published on Feb 25, 2013 The PBS NewsHour interviewed former Surgeon General, Dr. C. Everett Koop, on the anniversary of the first surgeon general’s report on smoking. Jim Lehrer interviewed Koop for a newsmaker conversation for the The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour from the surgeon general’s office in Washington […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 6 (includes funniest cartoon ever during Koop’s tenure)
Dr. C. Everett Koop on Baby Doe, euthanasia, abortion Uploaded on Nov 3, 2008 Dr. Koop answers questions on Baby Doe, euthanasia and abortion during interview at Wheaton College, Wheaton, IL http://www.christianethics.org Dr. Koop. C. Everett Koop On June 8, 1988 Ralph Dunagin of the LA Times came out with the funniest editorial cartoon I […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 5 (Public Health poster developed under Koop)
Memorial Tribute Former Surgeon General C.Everett Koop © A Genuine G-Shot.wmv Dr. C. Everett Koop was active on getting the word out about how people could catch AIDS. Public Health officials during the second half of the 1980s became concerned about the spread of AIDS particularly among minorities, a disproportionate number of whom were intravenous […]
Dr. Koop Gary Brookings of the Richmond Times Dispatch did a very funny editorial cartoon about the time in 1988 when Dr. C. Everett Koop sent the unapproved mail piece out to millions of homes about AIDS. There were many such cartoons at the time since everyone knew Dr. Koop got the mail piece out […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 3 ( three more editorial cartoons too)
Dr. Koop with Hillary Clinton In 1980 I really was influenced at my highschool by a teacher of mine named Mark Brink. He introduced me to the film series “Whatever happened to the human race?” by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop. In this film series that came out in 1979 they dealt with […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 2 (Doonesbury cartoon by Gary Trudeau included)
Dr. Koop On 2-25-13 we lost a great man when we lost Dr. C. Everett Koop. I have written over and over the last few years quoting Dr. C. Everett Koop and his good friend Francis Schaeffer. They both came together for the first time in 1973 when Dr. Koop operated on Schaeffer’s daughter and […]
Remembering Dr. C. Everett Koop with pictures and quotes Part 1
Dr. C. Everett Koop is pictured above. Francis Schaeffer: “Whatever Happened to the Human Race” (Episode 1) ABORTION OF THE HUMAN RACE Published on Oct 6, 2012 by AdamMetropolis Dr. Koop On 2-25-13 we lost a great man when we lost Dr. C. Everett Koop. I have written over and over the last few years […]
Open letter to President Obama (Part 232 B) Dr. C. Everett Koop and Reagan pictured together
Dr. C. Everett Koop with Ronald Reagan. Dr. Koop was delayed in his confirmation by Ted Kennedy because of his film Whatever Happened to the Human Race? President Obama c/o The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 Dear Mr. President, I know that you receive 20,000 letters a day and that you […]
“Sanctity of Life Saturday” Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop asked Reagan to issue pro-life proclamation in 1983 (includes video ABORTION OF THE HUMAN RACE)
In the film series “WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE HUMAN RACE?” the arguments are presented against abortion (Episode 1), infanticide (Episode 2), euthenasia (Episode 3), and then there is a discussion of the Christian versus Humanist worldview concerning the issue of “the basis for human dignity” in Episode 4 and then in the last episode a close […]
Dr. C. Everett Koop on abortion’s 1973 Roe v. Wade impact on child abuse
Dr. C. Everett Koop with Ronald Reagan. Dr. Koop was delayed in his confirmation by Ted Kennedy because of his film Whatever Happened to the Human Race? Watch the film below starting at the 19 minute mark and that will lead into a powerful question from Dr. C. Everett Koop. This 1979 film is WHATEVER […]
Open letter to President Obama (Part 221 B) Dr. C. Everett Koop and Francis Schaeffer rightly called abortion “the watershed issue of our era”
Dr. Koop was delayed in his confirmation by Ted Kennedy because of his film Whatever Happened to the Human Race? Francis Schaeffer February 21, 1982 (Part 1) Uploaded by DeBunker7 on Feb 21, 2008 READ THIS FIRST: In decline of all civilizations we first see a war against the freedom of ideas. Discussion is limited […]
Francis Schaeffer and C. Everette Koop on the Hippocratic oath (March for Life January 20, 2013)
Dr. C. Everett Koop was appointed to the Reagan administration but was held up in the Senate in his confirmation hearings by Ted Kennedy because of his work in pro-life causes. I was thinking about the March for Life that is coming up on Jan 20, 2013 and that is why I posted this today […]
Ronald Wilson Reagan pictured with Dr. C. Everett Koop
High resolution version (11,426,583 Bytes) Description: The photograph is signed by President Ronald Reagan with the inscription “To Chick Koop, With Best Wishes.” Chick, from chicken coop, was the nickname Koop gained will attending Dartmouth College in the mid-1930s. Koop maintained a cordial relationship with President Reagan, despite his disappointment over Reagan’s refusal to address […]
Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop were prophetic (jh29)
Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop were prophetic (jh29) What Ever Happened to the Human Race? I recently heard this Breakpoint Commentary by Chuck Colson and it just reminded me of how prophetic Francis Schaeffer and C. Everett Koop were in the late 1970′s with their book and film series “Whatever happened to the human […]
Should Michele Bachmann be punished for taking pro-life views from Schaeffer and Koop? (March for Life January 20, 2013)
Dr. C. Everett Koop I was thinking about the March for Life that is coming up on Jan 20, 2013 and that is why I posted this today Secular leaps of faith 39 Comments Written by Janie B. Cheaney August 15, 2011, 2:17 PM I’m willing to cut Ryan Lizza some slack. His profile […]
“Schaeffer Sundays” Francis Schaeffer’s own words concerning humanism and its bad results
Francis Schaeffer: “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” (Episode 2) SLAUGHTER OF THE INNOCENTS Published on Oct 6, 2012 by AdamMetropolis The 45 minute video above is from the film series created from Francis Schaeffer’s book “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” with Dr. C. Everett Koop. This book really helped develop my political views concerning […]
“Sanctity of Life Saturday”:Derek Melleby’s review of the book “Francis Schaeffer: An Authentic Life” (includes film THE BASIS FOR HUMAN DIGNITY)
I truly believe that many of the problems we have today in the USA are due to the advancement of humanism in the last few decades in our society. Ronald Reagan appointed the evangelical Dr. C. Everett Koop to the position of Surgeon General in his administration. He partnered with Dr. Francis Schaeffer in making […]
Taking on Ark Times bloggers about abortion on the 40th anniversary date of Roe v. Wade (Part 5) “Slavery issue compared to rights of unborn child”
The best pro-life film I have ever seen below by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop “Whatever happened to the human race?” Over the years I have taken on the Ark Times liberal bloggers over and over and over concerning the issue of abortion. I asked over and over again for one liberal blogger […]
Taking on Ark Times bloggers about abortion on the 40th anniversary date of Roe v. Wade (Part 4) “How do pro-lifers react to the movie THE CIDER HOUSE RULES?”
Francis Schaeffer pictured above._________ The best pro-life film I have ever seen below by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop “Whatever happened to the human race?” Over the years I have taken on the Ark Times liberal bloggers over and over and over concerning the issue of abortion. I asked over and over again […]
Taking on Ark Times bloggers about abortion on the 40th anniversary date of Roe v. Wade (Part 3) “What should be the punishment for abortion doctors?”
The best pro-life film I have ever seen below by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop “Whatever happened to the human race?” On 1-24-13 I took on the child abuse argument put forth by Ark Times Blogger “Deathbyinches,” and the day before I pointed out that because the unborn baby has all the genetic code […]
Taking on Ark Times bloggers about abortion on the 40th anniversary date of Roe v. Wade (Part 2) “The pro-abortion child abuse argument destroyed here”
PHOTO BY STATON BREIDENTHAL from Pro-life march in Little Rock on 1-20-13. Tim Tebow on pro-life super bowl commercial. Over the years I have taken on the Ark Times liberal bloggers over and over and over concerning the issue of abortion. Here is another encounter below. On January 22, 2013 (on the 40th anniversary of the […]
Taking on Ark Times bloggers about abortion on the 40th anniversary date of Roe v. Wade (Part 6) For many pro-abortionists ” …the problem is not determining when actual human life begins, but when the value of that life begins to out weigh other considerations”
The best pro-life film I have ever seen below by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop “Whatever happened to the human race?” Francis Schaeffer pictured above._________ The 45 minute video above is from the film series created from Francis Schaeffer’s book “Whatever Happened to the Human Race?” with Dr. C. Everett Koop. This book really […]
Taking on Ark Times bloggers about abortion on the 40th anniversary date of Roe v. Wade (Part 7) “Poverty not good reason for abortion, why not give up for adoption?”
Dr Richard Land discusses abortion and slavery – 10/14/2004 – part 3 The best pro-life film I have ever seen below by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop “Whatever happened to the human race?” Over the years I have taken on the Ark Times liberal bloggers over and over and over concerning the issue […]
Taking on Ark Times bloggers about abortion on the 40th anniversary date of Roe v. Wade (Part 1)
Dr Richard Land discusses abortion and slavery – 10/14/2004 – part 3 The best pro-life film I have ever seen below by Francis Schaeffer and Dr. C. Everett Koop “Whatever happened to the human race?” Over the years I have taken on the Ark Times liberal bloggers over and over and over concerning the issue […]
Paul Greenberg became pro-life because we are all “endowed with certain unalienable rights”
On January 20, 2013 I heard Paul Greenberg talk about the words of Thomas Jefferson that we are all “endowed with certain unalienable rights” and the most important one is the right to life. He mentioned this also in this speech below from 2011: Paul Greenberg Dinner Speech 2011 Fall 2011 Issue Some of you […]
How Pulitzer Prize-winning Paul Greenberg, one of the most respected and honored commentators in America, changed his mind about abortion and endorses now the pro-life view
It is not possible to know where the pro-life evangelicals are coming from unless you look at the work of the person who inspired them the most. That person was Francis Schaeffer. I do care about economic issues but the pro-life issue is the most important to me. Several years ago Adrian Rogers (past president of […]
The Daily Hatch 
Comments
I’ve got bad news for you, Everette.
You’re right that Dr. Koop was one of the good ones — but you don’t know what “oxymoron” means.
An oxymoron is not a contradiction. AN oxymoron is a new meaning made up out of contradictions, “bittersweet” being the traditional example. Containing contradictions does not mean being a contradiction: a can of beans is not a bean.
Maybe stick to using words you know the meaning of. Maybe stick to using theological ideas you understand, too, instead of making them up out of thin air every day.
-dlj.
Mark Beuving wrote an article which I posted on my blog and he did quote Dr. Alberto Giubilini and Dr. Francesca Minerva and they called the term “post-birth abortion” an oxymoron. You are a better man than me if you want to take on two doctors and correct them then be my best. Thanks for setting them straight. I don’t have the confidence in my abilities in English to do that.
They’re your doctors: you’re welcome to pass my perfectly clear correction and explanation on to them.
The pretentious misuse of big words is common among people who want to appear learned in front of ignorant audiences. I think this may describe your doctor friends.
Best,
-dlj.
There are those who try to use big words in front of ignorant audiences. I am sure that does happen. However, are you suggesting that evangelical audiences are less educated than nonbelievers? I discussed earlier the correlation of IQ and religious belief. Here is the link: https://thedailyhatch.org/2013/04/10/taking-on-ark-times-bloggers-on-various-issues-part-h-are-humans-special-includes-film-abortion-of-the-human-race-reagan-to-diminish-the-value-of-one-category-of-human-life-is-to-diminish-u/
The plain fact is there are really dumb people on both sides of the fence and really smart people on both sides. Faith comes those on both sides and so does unbelief. I graduated college in 2 1/2 years, but I don’t think I am as educated as my grandfather who was mostly educated by his own self outside of university walls.
I have enjoyed the interaction with you David. You have made some really good points.
Everette,
I did not for a moment suggest that evangelicals are less intelligent than others — and I note with amusement that this is a frequent tactic of yours, suggesting that someone holds a stupid position which they do not in fact have, and then rebutting that position, easily because it is a silliness of your own invention.
(It occurs to me that you may see the world as full of enemies, indeed devils, because you are readily able to attribute beliefs and motivations of your own imagining to others.)
In the times have have spent working with various churches I have worked with evangelicals, some of whom I admire greatly. A large fraction of the African side of my family worship Seventh Day Adventist — than which I’m sure you will agree it is difficult to get *more* evangelical. My feeling is that the adamantine certainty to which evangelicals cling gives them support of great value in an uncertain world — but confidence is not proof nor even evidence, and certainty is often a decoration on delusion.
I am sure your doctor friends are highly intelligent. I have never me a stupid doctor. It is your claim, however, that they misuse big words, and it is my speculation that they do it so order to impress the suggestible.
With best wishes,
-dlj.