If Roe v. Wade is overturned, many states may limit access to abortion immediately

If Roe¹ v. Wade² is overturned, many states may limit access to abortion³ immediately

Transcript⁴

NPR's A Martinez talks to Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute about state "trigger" bans on abortion, that may take effect if the Supreme⁵ Court erodes⁶ Roe v. Wade abortion rights protections.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, many states can end or curtail⁷ access to abortion almost immediately because of what are known as trigger bans. The Guttmacher Institute is an abortion rights advocacy group that tracks legislative⁸ efforts nationwide. Its principal policy associate for state issues, Elizabeth Nash, joins us now. Elizabeth, is it fair to define trigger laws as the name of a law that's unenforceable but might become enforceable if things change, if key circumstances change?

ELIZABETH NASH: Exactly. What we're talking about are abortion bans that were signed into law and only go into effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned. So they don't have a normal effective date like, say, July 1.

MART?NEZ: OK. So based on that, then, explain how states are already set to restrict access to abortions⁹ if Roe is reversed.

NASH: So what we have are 13 states that have these so-called trigger bans, right? They go into effect if Roe is overturned. And then you have sort of some nuance¹⁰ in when they go into effect, because there are three of them that go into effect immediately, another seven that go into effect upon AG - the attorney general's certification and then another three that go into effect 30 days after the Supreme Court issues its decision. But in all told, all 13 of these would be in effect within the month.

MART?NEZ: So now that we've all seen this draft, do you think more states will urgently enact¹¹ some sort of trigger law now that we've seen it?

NASH: Well, we have to take into account that some states already have adjourned¹² their legislative sessions and may not be coming back in for a special session. But we might be seeing at least a couple. There's one moving in Ohio right now. It's already had a hearing. So we're waiting to see what might happen there in particular.

MART?NEZ: What about states, Elizabeth, where abortion is not addressed at all in the state constitution? What might they do?

NASH: Well, it depends, really, on the political tenor¹³ of the state, you know? Right now we have these - right? - already, a quarter of the states, 13 of them, have these trigger bans. And then you have another set of states that have pre-Roe bans or, you know, bans that were in effect before Roe and never repealed¹⁴. Those states could move to have - to enforce those. And then you have some states like Georgia, where they passed a six-week abortion ban. That ban is not in effect because of the courts. So the attorney general in that state, once we hear from the Supreme Court, may ask the judges to dismiss that case, to allow that six-week ban to go into effect. So there's a series of things that can happen. But I want to stress that this would happen fairly quickly. We're not talking months and years. We're really talking around days and weeks.

MART?NEZ: And there are some states that say their constitution doesn't protect abortion rights. So they're going to go with maybe liberty clauses, privacy clauses, equal protection clauses?

NASH: Well, yeah. So in states that are - where the Constitution hasn't been interpreted to protect abortion rights and they do not - and they don't have a constitutional amendment¹⁵ that says there are no protections for abortion rights, yes, there are places that - where we could be looking at liberty protections or equal protections or privacy protections to fight back against abortion bans.

MART?NEZ: And Louisiana, Tennessee are two of those states like that. Elizabeth, if Roe is overturned, what kind of court challenges can we anticipate?

NASH: Well, we are going to be - our litigators in the movement are looking at what kinds of constitutional protections there could be based on those various types of clauses because, as you know, abortion is necessary. And it's part of health care. And we need to defend it to the fullest extent.

MART?NEZ: What opportunities to abortion rights advocates have for seeking constitutional protections on a state-by-state basis? I know California mentioned - or Gavin Newsom, governor of California, mentioned maybe putting it in the state constitution a couple of days ago.

NASH: Right. So you know, right now from Vermont, we have the very first ballot¹⁶ measure that if approved by the voters will put into the constitution an amendment that says this constitution protects abortion rights. And we have an effort in Michigan, where they're in the signature collection phase. So it's a citizen's petition. And they are looking to protect abortion rights in the - you know, at the November ballot as well. And now we've got California.

MART?NEZ: And one more thing really quick, what about states that have abortion bans still on the books from before Roe v. Wade? What happens with those zombie laws?

NASH: Those potentially could be enforced. But some of them, in places like Wisconsin and Michigan, have attorneys general and governors who support abortion rights. So they'll - they are not interested in enforcing them. But places like Arizona and West Virginia, we may see those attorneys general and governor trying to enforce them.

MART?NEZ: OK. Elizabeth Nash with the Guttmacher Institute. Elizabeth, thanks.

NASH: Thank you.

1 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？

2 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。

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 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。

5 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。

6 erodes   

侵蚀，腐蚀( erode的第三人称单数 )； 逐渐毁坏，削弱，损害

参考例句：

• The sea erodes the rock. 海水侵蚀岩石。
• The sea erodes the land. 海洋侵蚀陆地。

7 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。

8 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。

9 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

10 nuance   

n.(意义、意见、颜色)细微差别

参考例句：

• These users will easily learn each nuance of the applications they use.这些用户会很快了解他们所使用程序的每一细微差别。
• I wish I hadn't become so conscious of every little nuance.我希望我不要变得这样去思索一切琐碎之事。

11 enact   

vt.制定(法律)；上演，扮演

参考例句：

• The U.S. Congress has exclusive authority to enact federal legislation.美国国会是唯一有权颁布联邦法律的。
• For example,a country can enact laws and economic policies to attract foreign investment fairly quickly.例如一个国家可以很快颁布吸引外资的法令和经济政策。

12 adjourned   

（使）休会， （使）休庭( adjourn的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The court adjourned for lunch. 午餐时间法庭休庭。
• The trial was adjourned following the presentation of new evidence to the court. 新证据呈到庭上后，审讯就宣告暂停。

13 tenor   

n.男高音（歌手），次中音（乐器），要旨，大意

参考例句：

• The tenor of his speech was that war would come.他讲话的大意是战争将要发生。
• The four parts in singing are soprano,alto,tenor and bass.唱歌的四个声部是女高音、女低音、男高音和男低音。

14 repealed   

撤销，废除( repeal的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The Labour Party repealed the Act. 工党废除了那项法令。
• The legislature repealed the unpopular Rent Act. 立法机关废除了不得人心的租借法案。

15 amendment   

n.改正，修正，改善，修正案

参考例句：

• The amendment was rejected by 207 voters to 143.这项修正案以207票对143票被否决。
• The Opposition has tabled an amendment to the bill.反对党已经就该议案提交了一项修正条款。

16 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。