One family's abortion story and the other columns subscribers read the most
It's that time of the week when subscribers get their own Paste BN Opinion newsletter. These are the columns, from this week, that got your attention, so we're bringing them back today.
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My mom had an abortion almost 50 years ago. My family is finally talking about her decision.
By Nicole Carroll
My mom had written an account of the legal abortion she had in Texas in 1975, why she made that decision and how it almost killed her. It was typed, with handwritten edits and a bibliography, the paper now soft and yellow.
“I have often wondered if the telling of my experience would benefit others or was it ‘passe’ with the increasing acceptance of the operation,” she wrote.
She wanted to explain why a woman might choose an abortion. She quoted from a 1982 abortion handbook, “If abortion is ever to be demystified, we must work together to make it happen. … We can do that by talking about our experiences.”
She wrote this story in 1983, when I was 15. I had known about the abortion; I didn’t know the details. Now here they were. Simple facts in some places, graphic details in others. She changed the names of the main characters, but kept the initials. My mom, Judy, became Julie. My uncle, Larry, became Lonnie. (READ MORE)
If your power goes out this summer, blame Biden's energy policies
By Sen. John Barrasso
In an unguarded moment during his recent trip to Japan, President Joe Biden gushed, "When it comes to the gas prices, we’re going through an incredible transition." His economic adviser also argued that the president’s energy transition “works better for families.”
The president has misdiagnosed what ails our energy economy. He is engaging in political malpractice.
The president is beholden to climate extremists, and his administration is using every tool available to block American energy production. His administration is forcing American families through an energy transition that has no credible economic or technological path forward. It is a bitter pill to swallow. (READ MORE)
Biden shouldn't run for reelection in 2024, for the good of the nation
By Jill Lawrence
Aging has been on my mind lately. That’s not surprising given that my parents are in their 90s. But the real jolt came at a Bonnie Raitt-Lucinda Williams concert this month.
While Raitt at 72 met the expectations I had built up over 45 years of fandom at a distance, I gasped when an escort guided Williams to a mic stand onstage. She clutched it as she sang, motionless and guitar-less, for the entire set. I learned from a quick phone search that she is 69 and had a stroke in 2020.
That was a blinding reality flash about aging and fragility – a moment that makes you think about what's ahead and, whether you're a musician or a writer or a politician, how you can never know. (READ MORE)
Our grandmother lived 100 years. Her legacy of saving Jewish children from Nazis lives on.
By Carli Pierson
Andree Geulen was a 20-year-old teacher in Nazi-occupied Belgium when she noticed that Jewish students at her all-girls school were coming to class wearing yellow stars, or just not showing up at all. She told all her students, including those who weren't Jewish, to wear an apron to school to cover the hateful symbol.
That was just the beginning. Geulen would go on to save at least 300 Jewish children herself and more than 2,000 with her group of resistance operators during the Holocaust.
She died on May 31 in Belgium. She was 100 years old. (READ MORE)
Clarence Thomas' principles showcase how he approaches big matters of constitutional law
Michael Pack and Mark Paoletta
As the Supreme Court’s term draws to a close, we all expect some significant decision on abortion and other hot-button issues. As the leader of the originalist wing of the court, Justice Clarence Thomas has come under intense scrutiny and political pressure.
We may offer some insight into the question of what Thomas might do, though he is famously his own man, so no one knows for sure. (READ MORE)