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C. Everett Koop

C. Everett Koop Quotes

Former United States Surgeon General

C. Everett Koop, the former United States Surgeon General, was born on October 14, 1916, and passed away on February 25, 2013. He made significant contributions to the field of public health, particularly in the areas of AIDS and smoking prevention and advocacy.

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Famous C. Everett Koop Quotes

“I might be better able to help parents of dying children, but for quite a while I felt less able, too emotionally involved. And from that time on, I could rarely discuss the death of a child without tears welling up into my eyes.”

Children Helping Might Eye Able Felt Parent Dying Tears Involved

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Drugs don't work in patients who don't take them.”

Health Drug Patient

Author:C. Everett Koop

“At a time when we are pleading with foreign governments to stop the export of cocaine, it is the height of hypocrisy for the United States to export tobacco.”

States Government United United States Height Hypocrisy Tobacco Cocaine Pleading

Author:C. Everett Koop

“If you have a kid who goes to kindergarten and doesn't know what a circle is, doesn't know what red and green are, and doesn't know what right and left are, by the time he learns those things, the rest of the class is far ahead of him.”

Ifs Knows Kids Left Class Red Green Circles Kindergarten Red And Green

Author:C. Everett Koop

“You can't talk of the dangers of snake poisoning and not mention snakes.”

Danger Snakes Poisoning

Author:C. Everett Koop

“The best prescription is knowledge.”

Knowledge Health Personal Growth Surgeons Prescriptions

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Life affords no greater responsibility, no greater privilege, than the raising of the next generation”

“The American ideal is not that we all agree with each other, or even like each other, every minute of the day. It is rather that we will respect each other's rights, especially the right to be different, and that, at the end of the day, we will understand that we are one people, one country, and one community, and that our well-being is inextricably bound up with the well-being of each and every one of our fellow citizens.”

“Cigarette smoking is clearly identified as the chief, preventable cause of death in our society.”

Causes Chiefs Smoking Our Society Cigarette Quit Smoking Smoking Cigarettes Cigarette Smoke No Smoking

Author:C. Everett Koop

“There are all kinds of things you can do to marry literacy with health.”

Kind Can Do Education Health Educational All Kinds Literacy

Author:C. Everett Koop

“The baby's life is never willfully destroyed because the mother's life is in danger.”

Life Is Mother Danger Baby Destroyed Abortion

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Dr. Lourie's determined and compassionate advocacy led to new and improved services for thousands of children and families across the nation... the Lourie Center has rededicated itself institutionally to continuing his important work.”

Children Important Nations Determined Memorable Compassionate Continuing Drs Advocacy Important Work

Author:C. Everett Koop

“When a faith-healer commands God to perform a miracle, in the absence of a prayer that says, 'Thy will be done,' it is, as far as I am concerned, the most rank form of arrogance . . . The faith-healer Bosworth once said that faith makes God act. If you follow that line of reasoning God is in His heaven, but Bosworth rules the world!”

Ifs World Said Done Form Heaven Lines Prayer Concerned Miracle Absence Command Arrogance Reasoning Healer Thy Will Be Done

Author:C. Everett Koop

“In thirty-five years of medicine I have never seen one case where abortion was necessary to save a mother's life.”

Years Christian Mother Cases Five Medicine Christian Inspirational Christian Life Thirty Five Years Abortion

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Protection of the life of the mother as an excuse for an abortion is a smoke screen. In my 36 years of pediatric surgery, I have never known of one instance where the child had to be aborted to save the mother's life. If toward the end of the pregnancy complications arise that threaten the mother's health, the doctor will induce labor or perform a Caesarean section. His intention is to save the life of both the mother and the baby. The baby's life is never willfully destroyed because the mother's life is in danger.”

“All of the western world raises its children uncircumcised and it seems logical that, with the extent of health knowledge in those countries, such a practice must be safe.”

World Children Country Seems Practice Safe Raises Western Logical Western World

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Health care is vital to all of us some of the time, but public health is vital to all of us all of the time”

Care Health Care Public Health

Author:C. Everett Koop

“The right of smokers to smoke ends where their behavior affects the health and well-being of others.”

Wells Ends Behavior Smoke Well Being Smokers

Author:C. Everett Koop

“By the year 2025, 500 million people will die of smoking. Now, that's a Vietnam War every day for 27 years. That's the Titanic sinking every 27 minutes for 27 years.”

People Years War Dies Millions Minutes Smoking Vietnam Vietnam War Sinking

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Your choice of diet can influence your long term health prospects more than any other action you might take.”

Long Might Action Choices Term Influence Diets Long Term Vegetarian Vegan Vegetarianism Prospects Vegetarian Health Vegan Diet Vegan Health Vegan Food

Author:C. Everett Koop

“My experience with the Junior League, when I worked in Philadelphia for four years in reference to children's things, is that whenever they were asked they responded. They always responded with sincerity, and they did a good job.”

Years Children Jobs Four League Sincerity Four Years Good Job Juniors Philadelphia

Author:C. Everett Koop

“There are many stressed single parents who may be working two jobs in order to keep the family together.”

May Two Together Jobs Order Parent Stressed Single Parent Stressed Out Two Jobs Family Together

Author:C. Everett Koop

“I can't remember a time when I didn't want to be a doctor. The doctors I knew as a very young child must have helped to plant the desire in me, when I was as young as five or six. One homeopathic physician, Dr. Justice Gage Wright, was a great model.”

Want Children I Can Remember Young Desire Justice Five Six Models Doctors Plant Physicians Drs Young Children Homeopathy

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Polls that have been taken by kindergarten, first- and second-grade teachers indicate that 30 percent of the kids have been deprived in some way so that they are physically unable to keep up with the class.”

Way Firsts Has Beens Kids Class Taken Teacher Percent Grades Polls Deprived Kindergarten

Author:C. Everett Koop

“The health care industry can play a great role in this by being aware of the fact that these children form perhaps the most neglected group of people in the country, largely because it is hard to find them.”

People Children Country Hard Play Facts Care Form Roles Groups Industry Health Care Neglected

Author:C. Everett Koop

“The target audience goes back to conception. That means pre-natal care, safe delivery, post-natal screening, and the ordinary stuff you do in pediatrics.”

Mean Care Stuff Audience Safe Ordinary Posts Target Conception Delivery Screening Target Audience Natal

Author:C. Everett Koop

“The thing that reinforces my belief about that is having worked the last four years with the Safe Kids Campaign on a national basis. I am so amazed at what these little kids do in keeping their parents alerted to what they are there for.”

Years Littles Kids Lasts Belief Parent Four Safe Bases Campaigns Four Years Amazed Little Kid

Author:C. Everett Koop

“The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has been in existence for most of this century.”

Has Beens Existence Teaching Century Foundation Advancement Carnegie

Author:C. Everett Koop

“When a child shows up for school, and is not physically and mentally ready to learn, he or she never catches up.”

Children Shows School Ready

Author:C. Everett Koop

“A thousand people will stop smoking today. Their funerals will be held sometime in the next three or four days.”

People Today Three Next Politics Four Thousand Smoking Funeral Stop Smoking

Author:C. Everett Koop

“The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally people pick up a segment of a report and act upon it.”

People Way Wells Facts Picks Institutions Foundation Reports Academic Archives Carnegie

Author:C. Everett Koop

“There have been some good studies done in California with Hispanic parents where in the course of a year, they have changed their entire nutritional intake for the better. The kid becomes, in a sense, the bridge between the educational process and the home.”

Years Has Beens Done Home Kids Courses Process Parent Study Changed Educational Bridges California Hispanic

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Risks I think are the thing that make life important and everything that you and I do is risk vs. benefit. Is there a risk to sending your kid out? Absolutely. Is there a benefit? It exceeds the risk.”

Thinking Important Kids Nature Risk Benefits Exceed

Author:C. Everett Koop

“Make your kids go out and play. Kids ought to grow up the way you and I grew up and we grew up fifty years apart or maybe more. But we did the same things. Now who's out playing in the afternoon? Nobody.”

Way Years Play Kids Grows Nature Growing Up Grew Ought Grew Up Fifty Afternoon

Author:C. Everett Koop

“I'd like to say let your kids go out and play. Then I'd say you're not going to do that are you? Make your kids go out and play.”

Play Kids Nature

Author:C. Everett Koop

“If you want to say how can we step into childhood and make it better for them, I would start at the activity level. I'd like to say let your kids go out and play.”

Ifs Want Play Kids Nature Levels Steps Childhood Activity

Author:C. Everett Koop

About the Author

Born: October 14, 1916
Died: February 25, 2013
Known for: Former United States Surgeon General
Quotes: 36

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