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dstone6298's review
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Child abuse, Medical content, Incest, Religious bigotry, Adult/minor relationship, Grief, Toxic relationship, Racism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Medical trauma
bookswithmaddi's review
4.0
[ 3.5 stars ]
I really don't know how to feel about this book. It was really great and informative in a lot of ways but also it was written by a man and that comes through so incessantly that I felt the focus was actually taken away from women at some points. I'll add more to my review later but these are my initial thoughts.
I really don't know how to feel about this book. It was really great and informative in a lot of ways but also it was written by a man and that comes through so incessantly that I felt the focus was actually taken away from women at some points. I'll add more to my review later but these are my initial thoughts.
alexisrt's review
5.0
I come from a very different background and faith tradition from Dr. Parker, but his book deeply resonated with me. It is a political, moral, and religious explanation of his work as an abortion provider.
This book will not convince those who believe that abortion is murder and that is the end of the story, as the one star reviews here show. But many of us do not live in such a black and white moral world (and, Dr. Parker says, this belief is relatively recent for Protestants). I grew up believing, and still believe, that the Bible specifically says abortion is not murder, though it does not explicitly say if it is permissible or not. Instead, Dr. Parker believes in a theology of compassion for the women he treats, and an understanding that the Bible defends all manner of oppression against women that we do not accept today. In his view (and mine) a great deal of anti abortion activism today is based on sexual control of women. In my own experience, I have seen people opposed to abortion harden their hearts against the issues women face, and say they should have made better choices so they would not be in a position to need an abortion, or that their abortion is not truly necessary.
Dr. Parker's personal story is also well worth reading--his path to becoming a doctor was far from simple, and his decision to return to the South to serve the women there was not easy. It's a reminder of the many difficulties children, especially black children, face in order to succeed.
There were two specific small details that did not sit well with me. One was his assertion (repeated twice) that fetuses do not feel pain before 29 weeks. I don't know the science about fetuses in-utero and pain, but what I do know is that claims about pain have been used to deny that early preemies do not feel pain--and many NICU parents can tell you otherwise. I don't know if this is an error of science or phrasing, since it's clearly intended to apply to abortion and not to preemies in a NICU. Two, he slams perinatal hospice as a pro life front. Pro life activists may have latched on to perinatal hospice, and there may not be a defined medical protocol for it yet, but I have read about hospice programs that were helpful to families.
This book will not convince those who believe that abortion is murder and that is the end of the story, as the one star reviews here show. But many of us do not live in such a black and white moral world (and, Dr. Parker says, this belief is relatively recent for Protestants). I grew up believing, and still believe, that the Bible specifically says abortion is not murder, though it does not explicitly say if it is permissible or not. Instead, Dr. Parker believes in a theology of compassion for the women he treats, and an understanding that the Bible defends all manner of oppression against women that we do not accept today. In his view (and mine) a great deal of anti abortion activism today is based on sexual control of women. In my own experience, I have seen people opposed to abortion harden their hearts against the issues women face, and say they should have made better choices so they would not be in a position to need an abortion, or that their abortion is not truly necessary.
Dr. Parker's personal story is also well worth reading--his path to becoming a doctor was far from simple, and his decision to return to the South to serve the women there was not easy. It's a reminder of the many difficulties children, especially black children, face in order to succeed.
There were two specific small details that did not sit well with me. One was his assertion (repeated twice) that fetuses do not feel pain before 29 weeks. I don't know the science about fetuses in-utero and pain, but what I do know is that claims about pain have been used to deny that early preemies do not feel pain--and many NICU parents can tell you otherwise. I don't know if this is an error of science or phrasing, since it's clearly intended to apply to abortion and not to preemies in a NICU. Two, he slams perinatal hospice as a pro life front. Pro life activists may have latched on to perinatal hospice, and there may not be a defined medical protocol for it yet, but I have read about hospice programs that were helpful to families.
sarieinsea's review
5.0
I admit that I went into this book totally biased by my admiration of Dr. Parker and his work, so maybe on its own it's really a 4-star book. But it's amazing and he is a hero and everyone should read it, so 5. I really appreciated how much he opened up about his own faith journey and how he had a change of heart about his practice, but never looked back after the realization was made. He talks a lot about his admiration of Martin Luther King, Jr. and his desire to live his life in service to others, and how his idea of what service to others meant evolved. I wish I could persuade everyone I know who is anti-abortion and a self-proclaimed Christian to read this book, because it feels possible that Dr. Parker might be able to at least open some minds and help folks to see that the most Christian thing to do is let a woman be the owner of her own body and her own destiny.
hannairene3's review
2.0
Not to be rude, but I don't really know if the world needed this entire book mansplaining abortion. As a woman, I always knew reproductive rights were important. Kind of weird that Parker learned that as an adult...
Also, it was just boring.
2/5
Also, it was just boring.
2/5