James C. Burt

James Caird Burt (August 29, 1921{{cite web|last=Burt|first=James C|title=United States Public Records Index|url=https://familysearch.org/|publisher=familysearch|accessdate=6 November 2013}} – July 10, 2012{{cite web

|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/170178667/james-c-burt

|title=Dr James C. Burt (1921-2012) - Find a Grave Memorial

|date=19 Sep 2016

|website=Find a Grave

|access-date=27 February 2022}}) was an American gynecologist who was sometimes nicknamed the "Love Surgeon."Associated Press (December 9, 1988). Ohio "love surgeon" called up on ethics charges. Bangor Daily News After practicing for two decades while based in Dayton, Ohio, Burt was sued by female patients for altering their vulvas without their informed consent.{{cite news |author=Isabel Wilkerson |author-link=Isabel Wilkerson |title=Charges Against Doctor Bring Ire and Questions |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=940DE5D81630F932A25751C1A96E948260 |quote=Dr. Burt, once a well-regarded physician considered merely eccentric, began the special surgery in 1966. Explaining his philosophy in his 1975 book, Surgery of Love, Dr. Burt wrote: Women are structurally inadequate for intercourse. This is a pathological condition amenable to surgery. In franker terms, he also said that his surgery would turn women into horny little mice and asserted that the difference between rape and rapture is salesmanship. |work=New York Times |date=December 11, 1988 |accessdate=2010-10-26 }}

Career

Burt was born in Dayton, Ohio, and earned his M.D. from the University of Rochester School of Medicine in 1945. He was licensed in Ohio in 1951.

Burt began performing "love surgery" in 1966. In his 1975 book, Surgery of Love, Burt wrote: "Women are structurally inadequate for intercourse. This is a pathological condition amenable by surgery." He claimed his surgery would turn women into "horny little mice" and asserted that "the difference between rape and rapture is salesmanship."Burt, James C. and Joan Burt (1975). Surgery of Love. Carlton Press {{ISBN|0-8062-0158-4}} Burt's procedures caused sexual dysfunction, infection and the need for corrective surgery in many patients.Associated Press (January 20, 1989). [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=950DE5D71F3EF933A15752C0A96F948260 Ohio Doctor Offers to Quit]. New York Times

In 1988, women subjected to the procedure came forward, eventually initiating several lawsuits.Women go public with charges against Dayton surgeon, Dr James C Burt. The Plain Dealer 29 Oct, 1988, pg. 01 sec. A He voluntarily surrendered his license in January 1989, thereby avoiding a medical board hearing which might have uncovered more evidence against him. He subsequently divorced and declared bankruptcy due to the victim lawsuits totaling $21 million.Brower, Montgomery; Breu, Giovanna (March 27, 1989). [http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20119884,00.html James Burt's 'Love Surgery' Was Supported to Boost Pleasure, but Some Patients Say It Brought Pain.] People (retrieved April 15, 2011) Burt died in Dayton, Ohio, in 2012.

James C. Burt

Career

References

Further reading