Today’s Post contains this piece about a woman who had 15 abortions and wrote a memoir about it. I had already heard of this through thoughtful readers who sent me the link about her soon-to-be-released book, Impossible Motherhood: Testimony of an Abortion Addict. But I didn’t post about it because it’s been a busy week; that said I was also slightly reticent to read about this strange and deviant case.

Indeed, it’s not easy to read about. But here are the interesting points to me:

Firstly, she has tried to kill herself several times. Secondly, she writes that motherhood made her feel accountable for her actions.

The first part is a sad, sad note on what abortion does to a high percentage of women, who can’t cope, can’t escape and try to kill themselves as a result or spend many years imagining they should.

The second part about motherhood making her take note of her actions is interesting insofar as I have heard about this from several post-abortive women: When the do have a child or get pregnant and that child is wanted, even if they did not feel bad about the prior abortion (or did not realize they felt bad) becoming a mother brings all sorts of problems with the thing to the surface.

This speaks to the long term outcomes of abortion. The highest percentage of abortions occurs before the age of 30. Many women do see it as a solution in the short term and feel a sense of relief. The reality is that short-term “solution” comes back to visit them later in life.

Yesterday I heard a very wonderful woman speak at the de Veber conference. Her name was Teresa Harnett, and wow, I just found her captivating and inspiring for her strong compassionate presence, her words, her expertise in counselling women considering abortion. She’s been doing it for over 20 years at Birthright Pregnancy Services in Hamilton.

She spoke of her work as making a bridge between that catastrophic moment for a woman when she realizes she is pregnant and considers it truly to be the end of her own life and later on, to a future she can’t yet see. She can’t see it in her fear and concern. But Teresa spoke of making this bridge–to the point where she could see that her life will not end, that there is support, that there are true and meaningful choices.

All this rambling post to say I’m distressed when I read about someone having 15 abortions–and I’m sorry it takes a trigger like childbirth for many women to realize the fullness of their actions. But then there are women like Teresa, many, many women like her, doing great work as a bridge between a terrible present and a more hopeful future. And then I feel encouraged.

(More on the de Veber conference later. It was a really inspiring day.)

David Letterman admits he had affairs with (several) female employees. Classy, that.

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Update: His fans are OK with it.

Dave Letterman‘s a little randy and that’s just dandy with his fans.

It’s the guy who tried to extort $2 million from their favorite laughmeister who should be ashamed of himself, they said.

Kelli Lageschulte, 20, a graphic design student from Iowa, was among a crowd of people trying to get “Late Show” tickets at the Ed Sullivan Theater last night. She found a few giggles in Dave’s admission he had affairs with several female staffers.

“I wonder if he told jokes while they were having sex,” she said with a grin. “He is, after all, very funny. Anyway, everybody’s doing it.”

[Putting on crusty-old-goat-hat yet again] Har-dee-har-har.

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Andrea adds: In the Post of October 3, the Letterman tale is next to an article called L’affaire Polanski, which, until about 24 hours ago, Whoopi Goldberg and others in Hollywood also found very funny. Now apparently realizing that public support for pedophile rapists is something less than funny, Polanski supporters have gone silent. Rounding out the page is an item way up top about how the Italian PM has been been caught allegedly hiring multiple call girls in his Rome residence. Help, help! I’m drowning in the news of debauchery, and only about to start a post about a woman who was “addicted to abortions” and had 15. So the question is this: Is 9:30 am on a Saturday too early to start drinking? I’m not talking about coffee.

The next frontier: Greening the sex-toy industry. We’ll do anything for the environment, including giving new meaning to the term “tree-hugger”. [WARNING: this is for people with a sense of humour. Chronic nit-pickers, please skip this one.]

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Rebecca astutely notes: “‘When customers come into our store they’re not necessarily looking for ethically made and sourced nipple tassles,’ Roddick admits.”

How great must it be to have a job where you find that sentence leaving your mouth? Policy analysis is BORING.

At a modern gallery no less. Although in fairness it did take some work:

Tate Modern gallery has withdrawn a controversial photograph of Brooke Shields following a visit by police, amid concerns it could be in breach of child pornography laws.

[…]

The provocative picture by New York artist Richard Prince shows Shields standing naked in a bathtub, with a heavily made-up face and oiled torso. Children’s campaigners had condemned the Tate for including the picture in their latest exhibition, describing it as a “magnet” for paedophiles.

So controversial is the photograph, called Spiritual America, that it was hung in its own room behind a closed door bearing a warning that the work was “challenging”. However, visitors to a preview showing yesterday found the room closed.

The Tate chose to include the picture in the Pop Life: Art In A Material World after consulting lawyers. It has been exhibited in the US before but never in Britain. A spokesman said: “The exhibit is temporarily closed. We are in discussions with police.”

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said: “Officers from the Obscene Publications Unit met with staff at the Tate Modern regarding an image. The officers have specialist experience in this field and are keen to work with gallery management to ensure that they do not inadvertently break the law or cause any offence to their visitors.”

Inadvertently cause any offence to their visitors? Inadvertently? With this picture? No, I am not linking to the whole thing – just the head shot, which is sick enough without needing to show her “oiled torso”. The original picture is available online if you know how to search for it. Tell me, if you do see it, whether you think it’s possible to claim you didn’t know it might be considered (what’s the expression people use all the time?) “offensive to some”.

And what’s worse, the picture was “commissioned by Shields’ mother, who was intent on turning her little girl into a child star”. She was 10 years old at the time.

I am a pretty extreme free-speecher. I believe in the First Amendment, and I wish it applied in Canada as well. But even I think there ought to be limits: You shouldn’t be allowed freely to defame other people, to incite violence, or to distribute naked images of little kids. Calling those pictures “challenging” “art” isn’t enough to get you off the hook.

That’s not how you’d plan the birth of your child, but golly, this one sure ended well for all concerned. Well done!

Jennifer Aniston reveals what, to her, is the perfect guy.

The actress — who has dated Vince Vaughn, John Mayer and Bradley Cooper since her 2005 divorce from Brad Pitt – says she’s looking for a “normal” and “funny” guy.

“Nothing other than be a gentleman,” the 40-year-old singleton said of her ideal man. “A normal, nice guy. That’s all any girl wants I think. Maybe someone who is kind and funny.”

A new book explains. As far as I can tell, the answer is: It depends.

Now that‘s useful.

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Andrea adds: There really are limitations to the things “science” can uncover.

Ms. Walberg has two pieces in two papers recently, one on the GMAT and the other on daycare. I post about this to show off on her behalf.