A hospital in rural Oklahoma featured in a Netflix documentary is taking a stand against true crime tourism.
McCurtain Memorial Hospital in Idabel, Oklahoma, issued a strict mandate after curious viewers of "Maternal Instinct" contacted the facility to request photo opportunities with staff and access to medical areas tied to the arrest of Taylor Parker for murder.
“Maternal Instinct” premiered on Netflix last week on June 12 and in its first week, garnered 15 million views globally, according to charting data.
The documentary tracks Parker, an infertile 27-year-old, who faked a pregnancy over ten months with a fake silicone belly, fraudulent diagnostic imaging, a phony gender-reveal party for family and friends, and pregnancy journaling posted on social media.
McCurtain Memorial Hospital administrators did not respond to requests for comment.
However, in their Facebook statement, they said, “While the events portrayed were real and remain a matter of public record, they also represent one of the most painful chapters in the lives of the victim’s family, the New Boston community, and the healthcare professionals who responded that day. For many, the emotional impact of this tragedy has never fully faded.”
Taylor was convicted of murdering her 21-year-old pregnant friend, Reagan Simmons-Hancock, in New Boston, Texas, and cutting the unborn baby from her womb with a plan to present it as her own to boyfriend Wade Griffin.
Parker landed at McCurtain Memorial Hospital after being pulled over by law enforcement shortly after the murder.
The hospital is located in Idabel, a city in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, which shares dual state borders with Texas and Arkansas. New Boston, Texas, is some 35 miles away from McCurtain Memorial Hospital.
“McCurtain Memorial Hospital is aware of the renewed public interest surrounding a documentary on a popular streaming platform that revisits the tragic murder of a young mother and the death of her unborn child in New Boston, Texas,” the statement said. “The New Boston community will forever carry the scars of this loss, and many members of our team continue to carry those memories as well.”
Parker is incarcerated at the Patrick L. O'Daniel Unit located in Gatesville, Texas, where she is on death row awaiting execution.