Scan barcode
A review by kimberly_b
The Atonement Child by Francine Rivers
2.0
I've really liked some of Rivers' books, but this definitely wasn't my favorite. Dynah was so saccharine in the beginning it was ridiculous! I say that especially, because However, I actually liked the story and the characters as a whole, especially Joe.
What I REALLY had a problem with was the reference to birth control pills as abortion pills. WHAT?! (I seriously had to re-read that part to make sure that she was actually calling them that.) That was just ignorance on a whole new level. Birth control pills control your hormone levels so you don't ovulate, but they aren't 100% effective and I've personally known several people who have gotten pregnant while taking the pill and carried their babies to term. This book is obviously very pro-life, but by attacking birth control pills and calling them abortifacients Rivers is essentially making the problem even worse. One can only imagine the abortion rate would skyrocket if birth control pills were used even less. Also, the 'morning after pill' was also mischaracterized IMHO; it only prevents pregnancy from taking place--it doesn't terminate a fertilized egg. Oh, and it's claimed that abortions cause breast cancer--false yet again! The blatant medical errors in this book really irritated me, and, IMO, they just propagate the perception of pro-lifers as being medically ignorant.
I really didn't understand why adoption wasn't considered more in this book. Instead, it was a very black and white, abortion or no abortion story. There were some beautiful moments in the story that I really enjoyed, but I just couldn't get past all of the ridiculous misinformation.
Spoiler
she had a plaque made for her bus driver to celebrate how great he was. Personally, I would find that almost disturbingly strange.What I REALLY had a problem with was the reference to birth control pills as abortion pills. WHAT?! (I seriously had to re-read that part to make sure that she was actually calling them that.) That was just ignorance on a whole new level. Birth control pills control your hormone levels so you don't ovulate, but they aren't 100% effective and I've personally known several people who have gotten pregnant while taking the pill and carried their babies to term. This book is obviously very pro-life, but by attacking birth control pills and calling them abortifacients Rivers is essentially making the problem even worse. One can only imagine the abortion rate would skyrocket if birth control pills were used even less. Also, the 'morning after pill' was also mischaracterized IMHO; it only prevents pregnancy from taking place--it doesn't terminate a fertilized egg. Oh, and it's claimed that abortions cause breast cancer--false yet again! The blatant medical errors in this book really irritated me, and, IMO, they just propagate the perception of pro-lifers as being medically ignorant.
I really didn't understand why adoption wasn't considered more in this book. Instead, it was a very black and white, abortion or no abortion story. There were some beautiful moments in the story that I really enjoyed, but I just couldn't get past all of the ridiculous misinformation.