Commentary
Senate budget would take education funding to destructive new depths
“Fund students, not systems” has become the rallying cry of the country’s most extreme school choice zealots. It’s a silly motto for many reasons. Notably, private schools and public schools are both “systems,” and systems are necessary to efficiently provide students with high quality education serving the public good. Despite the motto’s obvious ridiculousness, it […]
Weekend humor from Celia Rivenbark: Could I be replaced by an AI chatbot?
With so much chitchat about AI chatbots replacing writers, I’ve been curious about how a bot would fare writing a weekly humor column. Could it sift through decades of columns and, in seconds, replicate my writing style so effectively you wouldn’t know the difference? Nah. I mean, right? I mean, I hope not? Besides, I […]
Public School Forum leader: Senate budget proposal comes up woefully short
The State of North Carolina has money. In 2022, North Carolina had over $6 billion in unappropriated funds. This year, North Carolina is expected to have at least $3 billion more than budgeted in revenue. This is a significant surplus. And yet, the budget speeding through the Senate this week — a proposal based solely […]
Physician: Abortion bans are mainstream…in countries where people die from them
When I was training to become a family doctor, I spent the summer in rural Kenya caring for women who had resorted to drinking poison, inserting sticks in their bodies, or visiting an untrained provider in unhygienic conditions to end a pregnancy. At the same time, a friend in my home state of Indiana, was […]
NC OBGYN: Abortion ban will harm patients and the practice of medicine
North Carolina’s anti-abortion bill (Senate Bill 20) will have many direct and detrimental impacts on the people of our state. The bill includes numerous unnecessary restrictions on the provision of healthcare and requires medically unnecessary visits and documentation — all of which will provide no benefit to patients and only serve to erect further barriers […]
The least that abortion rights flip floppers can do is explain themselves
As anyone who’s spent much time observing the proceedings at the North Carolina General Assembly can attest, those who issue pleas for more debate on important issues can sometimes have second thoughts later on. While the Legislative Building has seen its share of impressive orators through the years, this is much more of an exception […]
NC physician shares her patient’s painful abortion dilemma
I am a family doctor in North Carolina and taking holistic care of people during their pregnancy as part of my daily job. This includes counseling about genetic testing, medication safety during pregnancy, managing miscarriage, and discussing abortion. I share with permission a patient story that is powerful, and sadly, not unique. The female body […]
