2019年经济学人 阿拉巴马州的大新闻:堕胎法案(2)

 

Because the bill defines a fetus¹ as “a human being…regardless of viability” its sponsors resisted attempts, by Republican as well as Democratic senators, to allow exceptions in cases of rape² or incest.

因为该法案将胎儿定义为“一个人……无论其生存能力如何”，其支持者抵制了共和党和民主党参议员允许强奸或乱伦案件例外的企图。

The law will be struck down in the courts, just as heartbeat bills have been elsewhere, most recently in Kentucky and Iowa. Similar laws passed earlier this year Mississippi and in Georgia will meet the same fate, as will several more making their way through state legislatures if they become law. That is the purpose of extreme abortion³ laws—to prompt legal cases in the hope that one might come before the new conservative majority at the Supreme⁴ Court, which will use it to overturn Roe⁵.

这项法律将在法庭上被否决，就像其他地方的心跳法案一样，最近是发生在肯塔基州和爱荷华州。今年早些时候密西西比州和佐治亚州通过的类似法律也将面临同样的命运，如果它们成为法律，那么类似都能通过州立法机构成为法律。这就是极端堕胎法的目的——促进法律案件的审理，希望其中一个案件能在最高法院的新保守派多数派面前得到审理，最高法院将利用这个机会推翻罗伊案件的判决。

Until recently anti-abortionists were engaged in a stealthier battle. Rather than challenging Roe directly they chiselled⁶ away, introducing state-level regulations so burdensome that clinics were forced to close. As social conservatives retreated in the culture war over gay marriage, they advanced over abortion. Between 2011 and 2017, more than 400 abortion restrictions⁷ were introduced across America—more than a third of the total since 1973, according to the Guttmacher Institute. Eight states have only one abortion clinic left.

直到最近，反堕胎主义者还在进行一场更加隐秘的斗争。他们并没有直接挑战罗伊案件的判决结果，而是引入了州一级的法规，这些法规过于繁琐，以至于诊所被迫关闭。随着社会保守派在同性恋婚姻的文化战争中退却，他们在堕胎问题上取得了进展。根据古特马赫研究所的数据，2011年至2017年间，美国实施了400多项堕胎限制，占1973年以来总数的三分之一以上。八个州只剩下一个堕胎诊所。

Mr Trump’s appointment of two conservative Supreme Court justices has emboldened⁸ some pro-lifers to adopt a more aggressive strategy. Their hopes of directly overturning Roe were boosted on May 13th when the justices voted 5-4 along ideological⁹ lines to overturn a 40-year-old precedent¹⁰ in a case unrelated to abortion.

特朗普任命了两名保守派最高法院法官，这让一些反堕胎者鼓起勇气，采取了更激进的策略。 5月13日，法官们以5票赞成、4票反对的投票结果从意识形态的角度推翻了一项已有40年历史的与堕胎无关的判例。这让反堕胎者对于直接推翻罗伊案件判决结果的希望更加强烈。

1 fetus   

n.胎，胎儿

参考例句：

• In the fetus,blood cells are formed in different sites at different ages.胎儿的血细胞在不同时期生成在不同的部位。
• No one knows why a fetus is not automatically rejected by the mother's immune system. 没有人知道为什么母亲的免疫系统不会自动排斥胎儿。

2 rape   

n.抢夺，掠夺，强奸；vt.掠夺，抢夺，强奸

参考例句：

• The rape of the countryside had a profound ravage on them.对乡村的掠夺给他们造成严重创伤。
• He was brought to court and charged with rape.他被带到法庭并被指控犯有强奸罪。

3 abortion   

n.流产，堕胎

参考例句：

• She had an abortion at the women's health clinic.她在妇女保健医院做了流产手术。
• A number of considerations have led her to have a wilful abortion.多种考虑使她执意堕胎。

4 supreme   

adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的

参考例句：

• It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
• He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。

5 roe   

n.鱼卵；獐鹿

参考例句：

• We will serve smoked cod's roe at the dinner.宴会上我们将上一道熏鳕鱼子。
• I'll scramble some eggs with roe?我用鱼籽炒几个鸡蛋好吗？

6 chiselled   

adj.凿过的，凿光的； （文章等）精心雕琢的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• A name was chiselled into the stone. 石头上刻着一个人名。
• He chiselled a hole in the door to fit a new lock. 他在门上凿了一个孔，以便装一把新锁。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

8 emboldened   

v.鼓励，使有胆量( embolden的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Emboldened by the wine, he went over to introduce himself to her. 他借酒壮胆，走上前去向她作自我介绍。
• His success emboldened him to expand his business. 他有了成就因而激发他进一步扩展业务。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 ideological   

a.意识形态的

参考例句：

• He always tries to link his study with his ideological problems. 他总是把学习和自己的思想问题联系起来。
• He helped me enormously with advice on how to do ideological work. 他告诉我怎样做思想工作，对我有很大帮助。

10 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。