Journal: Eikon
Volume: EIKON 01:1 (Spring 2019)
Article: Human Dignity, Repentance, And #MeToo
Author: Catherine Parks

Eikon 1:1 (Spring 2019) p. 53

Human Dignity, Repentance, And #MeToo

Catherine Parks

And

Palmer Williams On

Palmer Williams is a lawyer focusing on issues of human dignity.

Catherine Parks is an author of several books. Both live in Nashville, Tennessee.

Palmer, as a human dignity attorney who has focused heavily on sanctity of life issues, I’m sure you watched with dread as the New York legislature passed—and celebrated—a late-term abortion bill this past January. What, in your view, is causing the shift from the former “safe, legal, and rare” abortion mindset to the shift of seeing abortion as a positive good with no need for any stigma whatsoever?

I think it’s not very surprising that some advocates are shifting to a viewpoint of celebrating abortion and ridiculing any and all restrictions. As technology advances and it becomes clearer that human life at every stage of development—no matter how early—is a new life worthy of protection and care, advocates have to answer certain questions to justify positions they’ve long held. But I think this is as important a time as any to remind ourselves that our fight is not against the legislator in New York or Virginia or the advocates celebrating in the gallery. Our fight is against principalities and powers who convince one political tribe to deny the personhood and dignity of the unborn child while convincing the other political tribe to deny the personhood and dignity of the immigrant or refugee. A former president (George W. Bush) and a former Planned Parenthood clinic director turned prolife advocate (Abby Johnson) have both expressed similar sentiments—while we must work in politics, policy, and law to make abortion rarer and less legal, our work won’t stop until we make abortion unthinkable. That means we need to befriend and listen to those who are painting the town pink in New York. That means we need to double down on serving our pregnancy resource centers who care for vulnerable women, children, and men uncertain whether they are strong enough to care for that child. That means we need to have churches walking alongside mothers, fathers, and babies—giving them the support they need to show them they are stronger than they ever imagined because there is a Lord who is more gracious and loving than we can ever imagine.

We have to love the mothers and fathers and babies and political opponents. We have to love the unborn babies, the immigrants, and the refugees.

Eikon 1:1 (Spring 2019) p. 54

Catherine, you recently published a book Real: The Surprising Secret to Deeper Relationships. In it, you talk a lot about the centrality of repentance. Can you explain why repentance is central to ...

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