'The anti-abortion movement's religious worship of the union of egg and sperm'
Opinion, comment and editorials of the day


'Would you expect a firefighter to run into a burning building to save a frozen embryo?'
Robin Abcarian in the Los Angeles Times
The Alabama Supreme Court just "ruled that frozen human embryos are people too" in the most ridiculous example yet of the anti-abortion right's "religious worship of the union of egg and sperm," says Robin Abcarian. A frozen embryo is "a tiny blob of undifferentiated cells," not an "extrauterine" child. Alabama has already criminalized abortion since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Now fertility centers face legal peril, too, as the state "slides toward theocracy."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'Trump's GOP is a confederacy of fakers'
Thomas L. Friedman in The New York Times
Former President Donald Trump's Republican Party will stoop to "any form of crow eating, bootlicking, backtracking and backstabbing to stay in his good graces," however "un-American his demand," says Thomas L. Friedman. "Trump decides to just dump Ukraine? Bye-bye, Zelensky." Trump dislikes a bipartisan "grand bargain on immigration reform? Gone." The GOP is stuck in a "doom loop" of "performing for Trump" to get clicks, donations, and votes. "It is all fake." The trouble is, our enemies are real.
'Biden rewrites "An American Tragedy"'
Arthur Herman in The Wall Street Journal
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
President Joe Biden "is poised to become the most discredited American president since Richard Nixon," says Arthur Herman. And his "diminished mental and physical capacity" is only part of it. "Instead of uniting Americans as he promised in 2020, he has made us weaker and more divided." He "handed out concessions" to enemies, abandoning Afghanistan to the Taliban and letting China buy Russian oil despite sanctions over Moscow's Ukraine invasion. "We had a right to expect more."
'The House should find a way to vote on supporting our allies'
National Review editorial board
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) "doesn't dare" bring up the $95 billion aid bill for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, says the National Review editorial board. Passing it without funding to secure the U.S.-Mexico border "would cause a revolt among the GOP's fiercest opponents of Ukraine aid." But Johnson has to get it done. Failure, "as Russia gains the upper hand in Ukraine" and Israel defends itself "against its terrorist enemies," would fuel the image of Republican "dysfunction."
Harold Maass is a contributing editor at The Week. He has been writing for The Week since the 2001 debut of the U.S. print edition and served as editor of TheWeek.com when it launched in 2008. Harold started his career as a newspaper reporter in South Florida and Haiti. He has previously worked for a variety of news outlets, including The Miami Herald, ABC News and Fox News, and for several years wrote a daily roundup of financial news for The Week and Yahoo Finance.
-
Can US tourism survive Trump's policies?
Today's Big Question The tourist economy is 'heading in the wrong direction'
-
September's books tell of friendship in middle age, teachers versus fascists, and Covid psychosis
the week recommends September books include Angela Flournoy's 'The Wilderness,' Randi Weingarten's 'Why Fascists Fear Teachers' and Patricia Lockwood's 'Will There Ever Be Another You'
-
'Total rat eradication in New York has been deemed impossible'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Total rat eradication in New York has been deemed impossible'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
-
Why reports of Donald Trump's demise are greatly exaggerated
In The Spotlight US president has once again brushed aside rumours that he's dead
-
'What's profitable today is not unification. It's segmentation.'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
US kills 11 on 'drug-carrying boat' off Venezuela
Speed Read Trump claimed those killed in the strike were 'positively identified Tren de Aragua Narcoterrorists' shipping drugs to the US
-
Trump vows to send federal forces to Chicago, Baltimore
Speed Read The announcement followed a California judge ruling that Trump's LA troop deployment was illegal
-
Epstein files: Maxwell courts a pardon
Feature A new prison transcript shows Ghislaine Maxwell praising Trump as 'a gentleman' while denying his involvement in the Epstein scandal