Member-only story
Why I Don’t Think “God’s Will” Should Excuse Preventable Deaths
A Doctor’s Perspective on Faith, Medicine, and the Cost of Inaction
I grew up in a divided-but-united household. My father’s side of the family are strict Catholics, the kind who have giant pictures of the current Pope in their homes. My mother’s side? Ardent Evangelicals. The kind who see the Second Coming in every news item. The type of people who’ve told me they’re praying for my soul because I don’t go to their church on Sundays.
Even with those kinds of family dynamics, my parents agreed that I should be a scientist.
When they saw my mind lean toward science and math, they made every effort to nurture that. Dad, a car mechanic, taught me physics and mechanical engineering as best he could. Mom, a law school graduate in Mexico, taught me to question everything, especially authority. They didn’t flinch when the town priest banned me from catechism class for asking too many questions. (Though, to be fair, my paternal grandmother’s heart broke when I couldn’t do my confirmation.)
Still, they bought me books. They enrolled me in advanced classes and helped me find my path. That path led to volunteering at hospitals, working in clinical laboratories, and later, becoming a doctor of public health.
