Search - False Positive

Interesting enough book, though a huge Christian slant on it, so beware if you would have a problem with the pretty constant references...and I wasn't quite prepared for that...should have been though, as both authors are from Theological Seminaries...

This book gets only one star from me, mostly for its preachy tone and one-dimensional characters. The villains are all unscrupulous unbelievers who not only perform abortions but also commit insurance fraud. The Christians are the heroes of the story who are unimpeachable, honest, hardworking, etc. A side point relating to the one-star review comes in the form of a woman who presents to the ER after having a failed elective abortion at 12 weeks and demands not to be given blood because she is one of Jehovah's Witnesses.

No. Just...no.

The authors are both intelligent enough (presumably) to have done their research for this book, and they should know that Jehovah's Witnesses are not pro-choice. This is either a dig at a religion they don't particularly like, or a sad case of not doing one's homework before writing a book. Given the fact that both authors hold advanced degrees, the former is most plausible.

The novel's protagonists are second-year resident Dr. Red Richison and clinic counselor Bethany Fabrizio, both of whom come to realize that a local abortion clinic (nicknamed VIP) has some serious problems, one of which is that the prescriptions for RU-486 aren't being prescribed properly (which is medical malpractice) and also that patients are being billed for services they didn't need (which is insurance fraud). The head of the clinic, the oily Dr. Ophion, protects himself and his best interests at all costs. Near the conclusion of the book, he hires fourth-year resident Dr. Denny Damon to work at his clinic and, more sinisterly, to "solve a problem" which turns out to be Dr. Richison's investigation into the clinic's daily routine. Dr. Damon injures Dr. Richison in such a way that made me stop and re-read a few pages to make sure I understood what had just happened.

The novel does contain a lot of medical jargon as well as explanations of how abortions are done. There's also some speculative fiction about how preemies could potentially be taken care of if we had the technology; this is explained through the actions of the head of OB-GYN, Dr. Kedar, and his determination to save his niece's life during the course of the story.

The novel itself is extremely pro-life and pro-Christianity. It also allows the reader to think more deeply about the philosophical concept of pragmatism (truth is what's useful; in the vernacular "whatever works"). What if an abortionist views his work as being useful and promoting human well-being? On the other hand, what if a pro-life counselor views her work as useful and promoting human well-being? To say "whatever works for you" leads to deep conflict; both sides cannot be true, however well they may work for each party. Pragmatism, when turned into a worldview, leads to this kind of incoherence.