To Protest His Daughter's Abortion, He Started Killing People
"We are all drowning slowly in the tide of our opinions"
When you’re trapped together by circumstance, you find a way to survive.
The story takes place in a woman’s health clinic that provides a wide range of care, from birth control to abortions. When a bereaved father enters the clinic and begins shooting, patients and caregivers alike are caught up in the tragedy.
He is upset because his daughter obtained illegal abortion pills online and terminated her pregnancy. She lives in a state where that is a criminal offense so she is now in prison. he’s facing the death of his grandchild and the loss of his only daughter.
I find it ironic that his protest against his daughter’s abortion is to kill people.
One of my favorite books is all about allowance and judgment.
It’s about sometimes having choices and sometimes not having any choice at all.
It’s about a diverse group of people who find themselves trapped together by circumstance, forced to find a way to survive.
They are ordinary people in an extraordinary situation, forced to find ways to support each other despite their differences.
Jodi Picoult fills her books with believable characters that you come to understand, even if you don’t agree with them.
A Spark of Light is a richly layered tale, revealing intersecting stories of complex situations that women face when making health decisions.
“Laws are black and white. The lives of women are a thousand shades of gray.”
― Jodi Picoult, A Spark of Light
Piccoult uses personal stories to illustrate the motivation behind someone’s choice, allowing you to see why someone might make a choice that you don’t agree with.
She builds understanding which supports empathy.
If you are able to acknowledge someone’s emotions and understand their perspective it opens the door to accept their choices. It lets you set aside your judgment and give them the allowance to make their own choices.
I admire how she uses her stories to bring people closer together. The world needs more storytellers who can create empathy between disparate groups.
Understanding and allowance build connections.
Izzy is a nurse who was in the clinic investigating her options because she is pregnant and isn’t sure if she wants to keep the baby. She grew up poor and is in love with a rich boy named Parker. She’s considering an abortion because she doesn’t believe he could possibly be in love with someone like her.
She doesn’t want to put him in a position where he might feel she is trying to trap him with a pregnancy. Her quick actions and medical skills save several lives.
At one point she steps in front of the shooter's gun, telling him he can’t kill her because she is pregnant. it’s a bluff that she hopes will work. It’s at that point she realizes she wants to keep the baby.
Other characters include
A pro-life advocate who had a back-alley abortion in the past after becoming pregnant in a gang rape at a party. She has infiltrated the clinic, trying to get damning evidence the pro-life group can use against them.
A doctor whose mother died after a voodoo priestess sold her abortion medications. He dedicated his life to providing choices to women so they wouldn’t have to take the same risks.
A young woman who has just obtained an abortion. She was determined to never allow a baby to end up in the revolving door of foster care homes that she grew up in.
The policeman who is negotiating with the gunman has a sister and daughter inside the clinic. They were there for birth control and his conflict makes it difficult for him to do his job with detachment.
An older lesbian woman who has cancer decides to step in front of a bullet meant for someone else, in order to save them.
This diverse cast allows Piccoult to put a human face on a hot topic.
She asks us to consider the question “how do we balance the rights of a woman with the rights of an unborn child?”
“We are all drowning slowly in the tide of our opinions, oblivious that we are taking on water every time we open our mouths.”
― Jodi Picoult, A Spark of Light
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A version of this story appeared on Medium*.
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