John A Desalvo

Loretta McLaughlin was an American journalist, author, and newspaper editor born in 1928. She began her career in journalism at the Boston Record American, where she, alongside Jean Cole, investigated and broke the story of the Boston Strangler murders in 1962, being the first to connect the crimes. Later, she worked as a science writer for Harvard University and in public relations at Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary.

Returning to journalism in the 1970s, McLaughlin worked as a medical reporter for the Herald American and later joined the Boston Globe as a medical news specialist. A strong proponent of public health, she dedicated significant attention to covering the AIDS crisis and was critical of political figures who she felt politicized the disease. In 1992, she became the second woman to serve as Editorial Page Editor for the Boston Globe, a position she held until her retirement at age 65. McLaughlin also authored a book on the development of the birth control pill and was a fellow at Radcliffe College and the Harvard AIDS Institute after her retirement.

McLaughlin's journalistic career was marked by significant investigative work, most notably her coverage of the 1962 Boston Strangler murders. As one of the first journalists to link the crimes, she played a crucial role in bringing the serial killer's activities to public attention. Throughout her career, particularly in her later roles at the Herald American and the Boston Globe, she focused heavily on medical reporting and public health issues. Her work advocating for public health was strongly evident in her extensive coverage of the AIDS crisis. McLaughlin was not afraid to voice strong opinions, notably criticizing politicians like US Senator Jesse Helms for what she perceived as the politicization of the disease, highlighting the complex scientific and societal challenges involved.

Beyond her newspaper work, McLaughlin authored the book "The Pill, John Rock, and the Church: The Biography of a Revolution" in 1982, which explored the development of the birth control pill. This work received varied reviews, praised by JAMA for its synthesis of science and humanism, but critiqued by Barbara Ehrenreich in The New York Times for its perceived lack of critical examination of the research ethics involved. McLaughlin also contributed academically, publishing an article titled "AIDS: An Overview" in The New England Journal of Public Policy in 1988, which offered a critical perspective on the federal government's response to the epidemic. Her research and publication records are preserved at the Francis A. Countway Library of Medicine at Harvard University.

“Helms is invincibly ignorant about AIDS, a complicated matter that is not suited to moralistic pandering... he can't even tell the difference between his blind prejudice and a slow but world-encompassing plague.”