From (e.g) https://github.com/python/cpython/blob/2.7/Lib/distutils/command/check.py#L145:

{{{
        try:
            parser.parse(data, document)
        except AttributeError as e:  # <- this could happen anywhere inside parser.parse
            reporter.messages.append(
(-1, 'Could not finish the parsing: %s.' % e, '', {}))
}}}

Without a stack trace, diagnosing problems like #23063 becomes unnecessarily difficult. See also:

* https://sourceforge.net/p/docutils/bugs/270/
* https://sourceforge.net/p/docutils/bugs/302/

I'd offer a patch, but I'm not sure what is meant to be signaled by the `AttributeError`. (Could `parser.parse` not exist? Is it something else?)

Distutils is now deprecated (see PEP 632) and all tagged issues are being closed. From now until removal, only release blocking issues will be considered for distutils.

If this issue does not relate to distutils, please remove the component and reopen it. If you believe it still requires a fix, most likely the issue should be re-reported at https://github.com/pypa/setuptools