Oklahoma's new abortion law could create a domino effect across the region

Oklahoma's new abortion¹ law could create a domino effect across the region

Transcript²

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt has signed a bill creating the nation's most stringent³ abortion restriction⁴. It makes performing the procedure a felony, punishable by up to a decade in prison.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt has signed into law the nation's toughest abortion restrictions⁵. Performing an abortion is now a felony, punishable by up to a decade in prison. As reporter Catherine Sweeney explains, the new law could also create a domino effect throughout the region.

CATHERINE SWEENEY, BYLINE⁶: Stitt signed that bill amid fanfare⁷ and reiterated⁸ his pledge to sign each of the several abortion restriction bills expected to cross his desk.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

KEVIN STITT: We want Oklahoma to be the most pro-life state in the country. We want to outlaw⁹ abortion in the state of Oklahoma.

SWEENEY: Without legal challenges, it would go into effect 90 days after the legislative¹⁰ session ends in May. That would be after the U.S. Supreme¹¹ Court is expected to weigh in on Mississippi's law, which bans most abortions¹² after about 15 weeks of pregnancy¹³. If that law stands, the court would be effectively overturning Roe¹⁴ v. Wade¹⁵ and the protections that case guarantees. Oklahoma has seen a surge in abortion demand since last year, when Texas passed a law that banned the vast majority of abortions in the state.

REBECCA TONG: As soon as SB 8 went into place, we began to see ten times as many Texas patients than the previous month.

SWEENEY: That's Rebecca Tong, the co-executive director of Trust Women, an organization that provides abortion services. She said there's a wide discrepancy¹⁶ between the number of people who need those services and the ones who actually get them.

TONG: Our phones are ringing all day long - multiple phone lines. I mean, many people who try to reach us never even get through.

SWEENEY: It's not easy to get an abortion in Oklahoma. There aren't enough providers in the sprawling¹⁷ state. Tong says this disproportionately affects people on the fringes with low access to health care. Their average patient is already a parent, has no health insurance and has to plan extensively for the visit. She says outlawing¹⁸ the procedure in Oklahoma would mean even more strain, but mostly on low-income people. Wealthier patients...

TONG: They'll be able to hop¹⁹ on a flight and go to California or, God forbid, in the future, hop on a flight and have to go to Canada, right?

SWEENEY: She and other abortion rights advocates noted²⁰ that the bills are nothing new in Oklahoma. But they're preparing for a world where court challenges won't block them.

TAMYA COX-TOURE: We've always had maps up of what access could look like if Roe were to fall.

SWEENEY: That's Tamya Cox-Toure, executive director of ACLU, Oklahoma and a longtime abortion rights advocate. She says there's an old saying.

COX-TOURE: How goes Oklahoma goes the rest of the South. And we're seeing that.

SWEENEY: The dominoes started with Texas and could continue later this year if the U.S. Supreme Court upholds restrictions passed in Mississippi.

For NPR News, I'm Catherine Sweeney in Oklahoma City.

1 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。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 stringent   

adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的

参考例句：

• Financiers are calling for a relaxation of these stringent measures.金融家呼吁对这些严厉的措施予以放宽。
• Some of the conditions in the contract are too stringent.合同中有几项条件太苛刻。

4 restriction   

n.限制，约束

参考例句：

• The park is open to the public without restriction.这个公园对公众开放，没有任何限制。
• The 30 mph speed restriction applies in all built-up areas.每小时限速30英里适用于所有建筑物聚集区。

5 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

6 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

7 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

8 reiterated   

反复地说，重申( reiterate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• "Well, I want to know about it,'she reiterated. “嗯，我一定要知道你的休假日期，"她重复说。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• Some twenty-two years later President Polk reiterated and elaborated upon these principles. 大约二十二年之后，波尔克总统重申这些原则并且刻意阐释一番。

9 outlaw   

n.歹徒，亡命之徒；vt.宣布…为不合法

参考例句：

• The outlaw hid out in the hills for several months.逃犯在山里隐藏了几个月。
• The outlaw has been caught.歹徒已被抓住了。

10 legislative   

n.立法机构，立法权；adj.立法的，有立法权的

参考例句：

• Congress is the legislative branch of the U.S. government.国会是美国政府的立法部门。
• Today's hearing was just the first step in the legislative process.今天的听证会只是展开立法程序的第一步。

11 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。

12 abortions   

n.小产( abortion的名词复数 )；小产胎儿；（计划）等中止或夭折；败育

参考例句：

• The Venerable Master: By not having abortions, by not killing living beings. 上人：不堕胎、不杀生。 来自互联网
• Conclusion Chromosome abnormality is one of the causes of spontaneous abortions. 结论：染色体异常是导致反复自然流产的原因之一。 来自互联网

13 pregnancy   

n.怀孕，怀孕期

参考例句：

• Early pregnancy is often accompanied by nausea.怀孕早期常有恶心的现象。
• Smoking during pregnancy increases the risk of miscarriage.怀孕期吸烟会增加流产的危险。

14 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？

15 wade   

v.跋涉，涉水；n.跋涉

参考例句：

• We had to wade through the river to the opposite bank.我们只好涉水过河到对岸。
• We cannot but wade across the river.我们只好趟水过去。

16 discrepancy   

n.不同；不符；差异；矛盾

参考例句：

• The discrepancy in their ages seemed not to matter.他们之间年龄的差异似乎没有多大关系。
• There was a discrepancy in the two reports of the accident.关于那次事故的两则报道有不一致之处。

17 sprawling   

adj.蔓生的，不规则地伸展的v.伸开四肢坐[躺]( sprawl的现在分词 )；蔓延；杂乱无序地拓展；四肢伸展坐着（或躺着）

参考例句：

• He was sprawling in an armchair in front of the TV. 他伸开手脚坐在电视机前的一张扶手椅上。
• a modern sprawling town 一座杂乱无序拓展的现代城镇

18 outlawing   

宣布…为不合法（outlaw的现在分词形式）

参考例句：

• Regulations are outlawing certain refrigerants, such as chlorofluorocarbons, which contain ozone-depleting chemicals. 随后出台的政策禁用了部分制冷剂，如破坏臭氧层的氟氯碳化合物。
• An amendment outlawing sale of intoxicating liquors(1920)was repealed in 1933. 规定售卖酒类为非法的一个宪法修正案（一九二○年）在一九三三年被废止。

19 hop   

n.单脚跳，跳跃；vi.单脚跳，跳跃；着手做某事；vt.跳跃，跃过

参考例句：

• The children had a competition to see who could hop the fastest.孩子们举行比赛，看谁单足跳跃最快。
• How long can you hop on your right foot?你用右脚能跳多远？

20 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。