‘I think religious preoccupation with abortion is largely about controlling the sexuality of women’

‘I think religious preoccupation with abortion is largely about controlling the sexuality of women’ July 31, 2014

John H. Richardson’s remarkable Esquire profile of Dr. Willie Parker is going to make a lot of people very upset. I hope that at least a few of them read the whole thing without reflexively railing against Parker in the stale terms that he anticipates, and rebuts, throughout the article. Dr. Parker says many true things and no false ones. We should not be afraid to listen to this man.

Here’s something to watch for in the inevitable uproar: Will any of those upset by Parker actually respond to him? Or will they simply plug his name into their pre-existing slogans and arguments, ignoring what he says, what he does, and those he serves?

 

AintThatAmerica

“The Abortion Ministry of Dr. Willie Parker,” by John H. Richardson

“The last thing I want to say is a lot of times when you come, there might be protesters. There are people that are going to be telling you that what you’re doing is wrong. It’s immoral. That you can’t be a Christian. That you’re going to hell. And a lot of women that bothers. Because there are women here who also have a religious belief, who also feel like they’re Christians.”

A black woman nods.

“I see women who are crying because they are Christians,” he continues, “and they are torn up by the fact that they don’t believe in abortion but they’re about to have one. What I tell them is that doesn’t make you a hypocrite. You can never say what you will do until you’re in the situation, and Christians get in jacked-up situations, too.”

The woman nods again, twice.

“And I address this because if those people are getting inside your head and you’re feeling conflicted, if you are not comfortable with what you’re doing, you may be processing this far longer than you need to. There’s nothing immoral about taking care of your health. There’s nothing immoral about making the decision to not become a parent before you want to become one. There’s more than one way to understand religion and spirituality and God. I do have belief in God. That’s why I do this work. My belief in God tells me that the most important thing you can do for another human being is help them in their time of need.”

At this, the women exchange glances.

Parker continues, spending more time on this issue than on anything else. One in three women will have an abortion by the time she’s forty-five, he tells them. “Y’all talk about your shoes, you talk about where you work, where you bought your dress, but y’all ain’t going to say, ‘Oh girl, when did you have your abortion?’ So I’m saying that if you are sitting in a room full of women, the only person you can really be sure about having an abortion is you. And you got to be comfortable with you.”

So this is between you and your conscience, he tells them. “If you are comfortable with your decision, ignore everything from everybody else.”

Read the whole thing.


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