In Memoriam: Lawyer Jim Turner, early hero of mercury-free dentistry

 

In Memoriam:
Lawyer Jim Turner, early hero of mercury-free dentistry

 

Dear Friends,
 
James S. Turner, who wrote the blueprint for the national campaign for mercury-free dentistry, died last week; Jim was 81.
 
Straight out of law school, Jim rose to fame as the author of The Chemical Feast, the explosive exposé of the Food and Drug Administration.  In the 1970s, believing that the consumer movement could be energized by private sector attorneys, Jim joined with consumer advocate David Swankin and Betsy Lehrfeld – Jim’s life partner as well as law partner – to form an elite force fighting for good in the nation’s capital. 
 
I was privileged to join the firm of Swankin & Turner in the mid-1990s.  Soon afterwards, Sue Ann Taylor showed up at our office to ask that we take on the cause of mercury-free dentistry.  At that time – as so many trailblazing dentists reading this email know – mercury-free dentists were being hounded out of the profession by state licensing boards that enforced the notorious gag rule that prevented dentists from telling their patients the truth about amalgam’s mercury.
 
Jim Turner accepted the challenge.  He and I went to a conference in Denver organized by Bob Jones where we were shocked to learn that the tiny number of mercury-free dentists – then 3% of dentists – were all about to be shut down; indeed, the pioneer Hal Huggins had just lost his license.  On the spot, Consumers for Dental Choice was founded and en route home Jim and I began to develop a plan of action. 
 
I wrote each of the 50 state dental boards to ask if mercury-free dentistry was allowed, asking for the chance to speak directly to the board.  With Jim’s support, I bounced from one state capital to another – Baton Rouge, Columbus, Atlanta, Des Moines, Raleigh, Juneau (that one was by phone!) – to make presentations.  Then dentists started coming to us with their cases…and we beat the dental boards in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Florida, Minnesota, Connecticut, Iowa, and California! 
 
Jim Turner was always bubbling over with ideas and focusing on strategies.  More than anyone, he understood how to link science with public policy – and he did so for cause after cause.  As I moved on to work full-time on mercury-free dentistry, Jim remained a stellar force for safe food and effective medicines, competition in health care, and disclosures as the best form of consumer protection.   
 
Jim Turner empowered the people he worked with and worked for.  He showed us paths to victory.  
 
Charlie
2 February 2022