Abortion-rights advocates and opponents gather outside the Supreme Court

Abortion¹-rights advocates and opponents gather outside the Supreme² Court

Transcript³

Protesters are gathering⁴ outside of the Supreme Court following a leaked opinion draft that indicated the Court will overturn Roe⁵ v. Wade⁶.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

There has been swift reaction to the leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe vs. Wade, the landmark⁷ abortion rights decision. It was reported by Politico. NPR has not independently verified the document. The leaked opinion also could change before the court issues a final decision on the issue. Nevertheless, protesters have gathered on the steps of the Supreme Court to oppose or cheer the possibility of Roe being overturned. NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben joins us now from the steps of the court. Danielle, just describe what you're seeing there.

DANIELLE KURTZLEBEN, BYLINE⁸: Well, you might be able to hear some of it. There is - there has been chanting going on for a while. Producer Barbara Sprunt and I got here at 8 this morning. And you have had both pro-abortion rights and anti-abortion rights groups really growing since then. It started out at a few, and now the sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court isn't totally covered, but it's getting there. You got, you know, maybe a couple hundred folks and, you know, it's getting pretty loud. The - and I will say that the group that is opposing abortion rights has been perhaps probably the more vocal⁹ of the two. They're being quite loud.

MARTIN: Well, let's hear more about what they're actually telling you. When you speak to those who are supportive of Roe v. Wade and fearful that it would be overturned, what are they telling you?

KURTZLEBEN: Well, that's exactly it. They're very fearful. They're very upset. One woman is Rachel Rawlings. She and her wife drove down from Philadelphia today. They said they just couldn't sleep last night after the news. And here is what Rachel told me about having lived her whole life in a country with Roe v. Wade in effect.

RACHEL RAWLINGS: I am a little over 50. OK. So Roe v. Wade was decided¹⁰ when I was 5. So I've - and my first memories were of Watergate. So I've kind of always known that things could change.

KURTZLEBEN: So there is a sense among a lot of the pro-abortion rights folks that, you know, they knew this could come. And now it's finally here. And she also said she's worried about her marriage to a woman. She's afraid that Obergefell could eventually be struck down as well. Now, you do have...

MARTIN: This is the Supreme Court decision legalizing gay marriage.

KURTZLEBEN: Yes, absolutely. Now, interestingly, you do have people here who are supportive of abortion rights who do have complicated feelings about abortion, though. One of those is Sarah Garland. She considers herself a Christian¹¹, and she told me more about that.

SARAH GARLAND: It's heartbreaking to think of a woman having an abortion. And I think sometimes the pro-choice movement can take that emotional side out. Just the reality of if you make abortion illegal, women are still going to get abortions¹². It's just going to become harder. And specifically, that's going to negatively impact lower class women, our Black and brown sisters. Like, I haven't always been pro-abortion. I even wouldn't say that I am. But I'm just hoping that people can realize that it's more complicated than pro-life, pro-choice.

MARTIN: So those are some voices representing those who support Roe vs. Wade. What about those on the other side of this, the folks who are there who oppose abortion rights?

KURTZLEBEN: Right. Well, you do have a couple of groups out here who are opposing abortion rights. You have Students for Life. There's also a group called Progressive Anti-Abortion Uprising. So this is people on the left who oppose abortion. And I spoke¹³ to one woman from that group. Her name is Kristen Monahan. And she - I asked her how she felt when she heard the news last night. Here's what she said.

KRISTEN MONAHAN: I was a little bit surprised because I tend to be a bit skeptical¹⁴ with conservative justices because a lot of times conservative politicians tend to pay lip service to the pro-life movement to gain votes. So I've always kind of been like, I don't know if they'll really overturn Roe, but this was, like, a sign that they're actually thinking about it.

KURTZLEBEN: And I do want to add there that she said that, you know, they're celebrating and they're out here, but they're also out here to show the conservative justices that they want that to be the opinion, that they want the conservative justices to stick to their guns on this.

MARTIN: NPR's Danielle Kurtzleben outside of the U.S. Supreme Court, thank you.

KURTZLEBEN: Yeah, thank you.

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 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。

3 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。

4 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

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 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。

7 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

8 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。

9 vocal   

adj.直言不讳的；嗓音的；n.[pl.]声乐节目

参考例句：

• The tongue is a vocal organ.舌头是一个发音器官。
• Public opinion at last became vocal.终于舆论哗然。

10 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

11 Christian   

adj.基督教徒的；n.基督教徒

参考例句：

• They always addressed each other by their Christian name.他们总是以教名互相称呼。
• His mother is a sincere Christian.他母亲是个虔诚的基督教徒。

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 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

14 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。