Life's Work: A Moral Argument For Choice by Dr. Willie Parker

I listened to the unabridged audio version Life's Work: A Moral Argument for Choice by Dr. Willie Parker and narrated by Caz Harleaux. 

Listening time for Life's Work: A Moral Argument For Choice by Dr. Willie Parker is 6 hours, 10 minutes.

Life's Work: A Moral Argument For Choice by Dr. Willie Parker is the second nonfiction book I've listened to about the topic of abortion. I chose to listen to Dr. Willie Parker's book because I was intrigued by the subtitle, "A Moral Argument For Choice" as I was very curious to hear what "A Moral Argument For Choice" sounded like coming from a Christian, male Ob/Gyn doctor. Usually, the words "Christian" and "Pro-Choice" do not go hand in hand. 

I am really impressed with Life's Work: A Moral Argument For Choice by Dr. Willie Parker. Dr. Willie Parker covers a lot of ground in this book and does so in a very thoughtful, straight forward, cohesive manner. He not only discusses his life and religious and educational backgrounds, but he also states the facts about the topic of abortion itself and how he came to become an abortion care provider. Additionally, of course, "A Moral Argument For Choice" was made for abortion in this book and I thought the argument was well made. So, kudos to Dr. Willie Parker and a big thank you for championing reproductive rights.

There were many really good quotes/passages in Life's Work: A Moral Argument For Choice by Dr. Willie Parker, but my favorite quote is "Experience is not what happens to you. Experience is what you do with what happens to you."

By the way, in case you were wondering, the first book I listened to about abortion was This Common Secret: My Journey as an Abortion Doctor by Susan Wicklund, which I loved and gave a 5 star out of 5 star rating back in 2016. 

The following is a summary for Life's Work: A Moral Argument For Choice by Dr. Willie Parker from Amazon:

In this “vivid and companionable memoir of a remarkable life” (The New Yorker), an outspoken, Christian reproductive justice advocate and abortion provider reveals his personal and professional journeys in an effort to seize the moral high ground on the question of choice and reproductive justice. 

Dr. Willie Parker grew up in the Deep South, lived in a Christian household, and converted to an even more fundamentalist form of Christianity as a young man. But upon reading an interpretation of the Good Samaritan in a sermon by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., he realized that in order to be a true Christian, he must show compassion for all people at all times.

In 2009, he stopped practicing obstetrics to focus entirely on providing safe abortions for women who need help the most—often women in poverty and women of color—in the hotbed of the pro-choice debate: the South. He thereafter traded in his private practice and his penthouse apartment in Hawaii for the life of an itinerant abortion provider, becoming one of the few doctors to provide such services in Mississippi and Alabama.

In Life’s Work, Dr. Willie Parker tells a deeply personal and thought-provoking narrative that illuminates the complex societal, political, religious, and personal realities of abortion in the United States from the unique perspective of someone who performs them and defends the right to do so every day. In revealing his daily battle against mandatory waiting periods and bogus rules, Dr. Parker makes a powerful Christian case for championing reproductive rights. “At a moment when reproductive health and rights are under attack…Dr. Parker’s book is a beacon of hope and a call to action” (Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood).

I am giving Life's Work: A Moral Argument For Choice by Dr. Willie Parker a rating of 4.5 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!