Editing C. Everett Koop (section)

===Disability===
In April 1982, a child born in [[Bloomington, Indiana]], was diagnosed with [[Down syndrome]] as well as [[esophageal atresia]] with [[tracheoesophageal fistula]]. Six days later, after court involvement and parental discussion involving disagreement among physicians about whether or not to treat the baby or let him die, the baby died, having been denied surgical treatment to correct his esophageal atresia and tracheoesophageal fistula. Baby Doe, as he would be known, became a symbol for newborns with congenital disabilities, children with disabilities, and the debate over infanticide. Koop was not initially involved with the Baby Doe case but had a special interest in it. As a pediatric surgeon in Philadelphia, he and his colleagues had operated on 475 such babies during his 35 years there, with ever-increasing survival rates. During his last eight years in active practice, Koop never lost a full-term baby upon whom he had operated to correct esophageal atresia. Due to this background, he became actively involved in championing policies to protect the rights of newborns with disabilities, which led to Congress passing the [[Baby Doe Amendment]].