You may be familiar with the name Willie Parker.
The notorious abortionist works at the only abortion facility left in the state of Mississippi, as well as in Alabama. Parker calls himself a Christian, saying that his faith is what compels him to commit abortions. But when Parker was interviewed by Pastor Jesse Lee Peterson, Peterson set the long-time abortionist straight on what abortion really does.
Peterson is a pastor dedicated to charity work. He founded BOND, a non-profit organization with the goal of “Rebuilding the Family by Rebuilding the Man.” He also runs a home for young men and works as a public speaker, author, and counselor.
Parker tells several lies in his interview with Peterson. The conversation between the two men began with Peterson asking Parker why he decided to start committing abortions.
Why Did You Start Committing Abortions?
“Somebody once said that when you wrestle with your conscience and you lose, you actually win, and for me, that wrestling with conscience started about 14 years ago,” Parker answered. “The reality is that one in three women in this country, by the time they’re aged 45, will have an abortion. And it’s the most common healthcare procedure that’s offered, and it’s also one of the safest. But it’s also one of the most controversial because it is a decision that is unique to women. My awareness as a physician as to what happens to women when that care’s not available convicted me around what it means to be a women’s health care provider, and to be a Christian, which ultimately led me to conclude that there was nothing doctrinally or specific about abortion in sacred texts, whichever one you’re talking about, nor was there anything that prohibited women from having control of their lives and their bodies, to make the same decisions that men are entitled to make as moral agents.”
How is Abortion a “Health Care” Procedure?
Peterson, who is amazed by Parker’s nonsensical argument, asked how abortion is a health care procedure.
“So, when, uh, a woman has a pregnancy that affects her health or that she decides to end, if she doesn’t have an opportunity to end it safely, anything that risks or poses a risk to your health is a healthcare issue,” Parker replied.
“But it’s not a healthcare issue for the baby, the unborn child,” Peterson interjected. “You’re killing the baby. So I don’t know how that is a health care issue for the child.”
“Well, you’re — you know — so, one of the things that — when people describe abortion that way, of calling abortion murder, or they call a developing pregnancy a baby, what they’re telling me is that they have a certain understanding about what a baby is or about what they think health care is, if we’re going to be precise in our language, baby is a cultural term,” Parker responded. “It’s not a scientific or medical term. And before — you’re not a baby before you’re born.”
Parker, who has compared himself to Jesus, as well as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, in the past speaks a falsehood when he compares abortion to legitimate health care procedures. As OB/GYN and former abortionist Dr. Anthony Levatino explains, abortion is never truly medically necessary:
Aren’t You Taking a Life?
Parker then went on to argue that while people can be personally pro-life, thanks to our laws which have made abortion legal, people do not have the right to prevent a woman from having an abortion or arguing against it.
“But aren’t you taking a life inside the womb?” Peterson asked. “Aren’t you taking a life?”
“I am actually, a pregnancy — when you do an abortion, yes, a pregnancy, does end a life. But does it end a person?” Parker asked in return.
“So you are killing an unborn child, if you’re taking a life,” Peterson said. “You’re not taking a life of an animal. You’re not taking the life of a woman. So you’re taking the life of a child.”
“I disagree with you,” Parker said. “I understand the concern — uh, I’m not killing an unborn child. I’m ending a pregnancy. I’m ending a pregnancy.”
“But does that require you to take the life of the child in the woman’s womb?” Peterson asked.
“I don’t define a pregnancy as a child, and I will — ”
“But does it have a life?” Peterson asked. “Is it living?”
“It is a living entity,” Parker conceded. “It is a life. It is a human being because women don’t have puppies. But it is not a baby, and if it were a baby, it would be a person.”
“The reality is, you are taking a life,” Peterson said. He then continued to press Parker to answer his question about whether or not he is taking a life.
“Yes, an abortion ends a life,” Parker said testily. “Now, what I asked you was, you’re saying a pregnancy is a baby, right?”
“It’s an unborn child,” Peterson agreed.
“So, if I kill a child, that’s murder, right?” Parker asked. “So, if I’m killing a child, if I’m doing an abortion in an abortion clinic, if you call the police, will they come and arrest me?”
“They won’t because of the law,” Peterson said. “That still doesn’t take away the fact that you’re taking a life. We both agree that you are taking a life.”
“Correct,” said Parker.
Logically, a Human Life Must be a Person
The second major falsehood Parker offers is that a preborn child is not a person or a child. It’s an odd argument from him, considering he repeatedly admits that abortion takes a life. Yet he tries to claim that while it takes a life, a preborn baby is not a baby. There is evidently something magical that happens when a baby passes through the vaginal canal because prior to that, the baby isn’t a baby. A few inches of space apparently makes all the difference, even if — as Parker concedes — the preborn baby is a living entity.
The Words Don’t Change the Science
And while Parker tries to argue that “baby” is not the scientific or medical term for a preborn baby — which is technically correct — it’s really irrelevant. What we call them, whether it be fetuses or preborn babies, doesn’t matter, because it doesn’t change the reality. Preborn babies are living human beings. Science has made it abundantly clear that preborn babies are living, separate human beings from their mothers.
At the moment of conception, the baby already has their own unique DNA strand, separate from their mother; by 21 days after conception, the baby’s heart is beating. Brain waves can be detected not long after. Even in the very earliest days of pregnancy, it’s a fact that this is a living being. Arguing whether or not to call it a baby is semantics meant to distract from the reality of the situation.
Just Because It’s Legal Doesn’t Mean It’s Right
Finally, Parker tries to argue that it’s not murder because police wouldn’t arrest him for doing what he does. But just because something is legal, that doesn’t make it right. Slavery was legal once; would Parker have argued that slavery was justifiable then? The Holocaust was a state-sanctioned and therefore “legal” mass genocide. Does that change the reality that it was murder? That it was genocide? Of course not, and Parker is engaging yet again in semantics and wordplay.
Peterson hit the nail on the head with his simple argument. It doesn’t matter how much Parker tries to talk around the issue. Abortion takes a life, period. There’s no escaping that. And the fact that it’s legal doesn’t excuse it.
