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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 1, 2017)
Street Roots • Dec 1-7, 2017 Book Review the notion that racial justice and reproductive justice are intimately related. “It was not lost on me, an African American man from Birmingham, Alabama, descended from slaves, that new legislation aimed at telling women what they might and might not do with their own physical bodies looked a whole lot like men owning women’s bodies.” One thing that is refreshing about this book is the strong thread of feminism coming from a man. He uses examples from his upbringing where teenage girls (or unmarried women) were stigmatized because of a pregnancy, but the boys and men who fathered the children were not. Parker provides an interesting background on the history of the politics leading up to the present day, including how the Republican party evolved to its current views on abortion. He criticizes Democrats for their contribution to the rhetoric of women as victims rather than deserving of liberty and privacy. What I have found powerful about the way Parker both writes and speaks is the humanism and dignity he gives to his patients above all else. He expresses his frustration with the current state of politics when he asserts, “The political conversation about abortion has obliterated truth and crushed any nuanced understanding of what it means to live a human life.” I also appreciated that he readily describes abortion procedures in a way that is easy to understand and medically accurate. This is a particular skill set that I’m sure anyone who has ever seen a doctor can appreciate. There are a lot of myths and misunderstandings about what having an abortion entails, so it is worth giving credit for this seemingly simple section of the book. In “Slings and Arrows,” he discusses the murder of-Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider who was killed in a church in 2009, and the risks of this profession. Perhaps the only place where Parker’s ability to humanize others waivers is in referring to the “antis” (short for “anti choice”) as he calls those who refer to also introduces his Christianity and BY G LEN N A M ARTIN themselves as “pro-life.” Because I do not C O N T R IB U T IN G C O L U M N IS T dedicates the book to the women who want identify in that way, I am not sure how this abortions. It is apt that he starts the book would come across to someone who opposes r. Willie Parker is an obstetrician/ this way, and in fact he centers his patients his viewpoints. It is compelling to read that gynecologist who has been in the and others in his life throughout the book. Christianity and defense of legal access to public eye for years. A “Life’s Work” Parker tells of his religious beliefs, his abortion are not mutually exclusive. The last is a bold and brave memoir that justifies his family and upbringing and his experiences chapter, “A New Theology of Abortion,” is ongoing advocacy and activism for abortion as a doctor to explain how he arrives at his exactly that, and wraps up the book nicely in rights. views. He writes about his deep a way that feels like both an end and a Parker provides abortions in the South, commitment to social justice and his beginning. mainly Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. In admiration for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. In One criticism I have is that women, per 2009 he decided to dedicate the rest of his fact, it is in part by reading King’s se, are not the only ones with a uterus. I career to the practice of safe and dignified interpretation of the “The Parable of the think at this point if we are speaking about a abortion care. This book is about his journey Good Samaritan” that Parker realized his gender issue, such as abortion, it is and arrival both physically and mentally to future. And this is all just in the first important to at least mention trans, gender this time in his career. What I find chapter, “Conversion.” queer and others who are often not included captivating about his journey is the religious In subsequent chapters, Parker shares or considered in the discussion when we and moral arc. He writes that while some intimate details of his life growing up in a center it purely around women. That said, I Christians believe they must conscientiously small mining town in Alabama. We follow his believe that Parker would likely agree with object to abortion, he believes that he has a education, and in a chapter called “Dreams,” this analysis, though it is not often moral or religious obligation to provide he gives us a sense of how it felt to balance discussed, and the medical community as a compassionate care. his religious beliefs with his love of science. whole has a long way to go on this topic. M y copy of this book is signed by the A mentor encourages him to be a doctor, Although the topics raised in this book author with the phrase, “Women matter. which was the first time he considered can be challenging, the book is eminently Thanks for caring.” I think this nicely sums merging his interest in building readable, and I found myself compelled to up how Parker feels and writes about his relationships, helping others and studying continue chapter after chapter, even late at work and passion. Full disclosure: I have met science, which led to his career choice. night. I recommend this book without Parker and am a fan of his advocacy and Parker also writes about race and racism reservation, and I’d move it up your list work. I am also a physician. I have a few throughout the book, from being raised in sooner than later. more disclosures, but this is a review of black churches to his experiences being Parker’s memoir, so 111 stop here. „ Reprinted from Street Roots’ sister paper, overlooked as the physician due to the color In the prologue titled “The Women, Real Change News, Seattle. of his skin. His powerful writing reinforces Parker shares stories from his clinic, but Dr. Willie Parker’s moral evolution Memoir weaves together racial, religious and reproductive justice W 8&8K « Si&ii . W ’ O- ?«• ■ ' ■ • LIFE'S W O RK t iO R A t M8GWE1T FOR CHOICE : DR. WILLIE PARKER Life’s Work: A Moral Argument for Fhoice, by Dr. Willie Parker D Page
