Copyright 1999 Phoenix Newspapers, Inc.
THE ARIZONA
REPUBLIC
October 31, 1999 Sunday, Final Chaser
SECTION: FRONT; Pg. A2
LENGTH: 665 words
HEADLINE:
ETHICAL QUESTIONS SHAKE EX-SURGEON GENERAL'S REPUTATION
BYLINE: STEVE WILSON, Republic Columnist
BODY:
For the past two decades, he's been one of
the most respected men in America. His stern demeanor and Old Testament face
reinforced the image of authority and integrity. Polls rated him the nation's
most trusted health expert.
Dr. C. Everett Koop, surgeon general under
President Reagan for eight years, was called "America's family doctor," a term
he used in the title of his memoir.
The 1991 book deepened his
reputation for honesty. Asked by a White House aide to revise his statement on
AIDS to say "all Americans are opposed to homosexuality," he firmly refused. The
aide, he said, "did not seem to understand that I could not say it because it
was not true."
Though strongly pro-life, he resisted political pressure
to twist the medical truth about abortion. Asked by Reagan to write a report
about the physical harm of abortions on women, he researched the question
thoroughly and found inadequate evidence. In a letter to Reagan, he said he
could not write the report because no credible studies showed that abortions
were detrimental to women's health.
So it has been surprising and sad to
see Koop's sterling reputation shaken recently by dubious ethical conduct.
Now 82, Koop drew criticism earlier this year over financial deals on
his hugely popular health Web site. He became an Internet multimillionaire when
the project went public. In the stock filing, his company said its goal was to
"establish the DrKoop.com brand so that consumers associate the trustworthiness
and credibility of Dr. C. Everett Koop with our company."
Although
trading on his name has been profitable, it has also been controversial. The
site has failed to note financial ties to businesses and often blurred the line
between information and advertising.
One of his deals involved Quintiles
Transnational Corp., which uses the Web site to recruit volunteers for
drug trials. The contract gave money to Koop's company for each
patient recruited, a fact that wasn't revealed on the site.
Last April,
Koop lobbied Congress on behalf of Schering-Plough Corp., advocating a five-year
patent extension on its highly profitable allergy
drug, Claritin. He failed to disclose that his non-profit Koop
Foundation, associated with Dartmouth Medical School, had just received a $1
million grant from Schering-Plough.
Koop was under fire again last week
for not disclosing a $1 million consulting contract with WRP Corp., one of the
biggest manufacturers of latex gloves widely used in hospitals. Many health
authorities say the gloves, which are at issue in 300 lawsuits, can cause
debilitating, even life-threatening allergic reactions.
In testimony to
Congress this year, Koop belittled concerns over the gloves as "borderline
hysteria." Despite congressional rules that witnesses disclose all financial
interests or ties, he made no mention of his contract with the glove
manufacturer, which ended in 1997.
Dr. Sidney Wolfe, director of Public
Citizen's Health Research Group, ripping into him, saying he has "no scientific
basis for the position he has taken."
Still, a spokeswoman for Koop
insisted he had done nothing improper.
The way Koop has profited from
his trustworthiness calls to mind an anecdote about a man living in Victorian
England who told a friend, "I would give a thousand pounds for your good name."
"Why?" the friend asked.
"Because I could make ten thousand
pounds by it."
I see nothing wrong with Koop going commercial and making
a bundle. I have no problem with him cashing in on his eminent reputation and
years of public service.
But it's disappointing to say the least to see
a man of Koop's stature so indifferent to apparent conflicts of interest.
Ten years ago, I listened to him speak in Washington and thought here
was a model of competence and virtue. I would have sooner expected to learn
Mother Teresa had been an embezzler than to read about Koop cutting ethical
corners.
It may be true that every man has his price, but I imagined his
was higher.
LOAD-DATE: November 7, 1999
