An upcoming Supreme Court ruling may disproportionately impact on people of color

An upcoming Supreme¹ Court ruling may disproportionately impact on people of color

Transcript²

If the Supreme Court over turns Roe³ versus⁴ Wade⁵, it would trigger abortion⁶ bans and restrictions⁷ in 26 states. But the ruling will most impact poor people and communities of color.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

A recently leaked draft opinion suggests the U.S. Supreme Court will likely overturn the landmark⁸ abortion ruling Roe v. Wade. If that happens, more than two dozen states are expected to ban or seriously restrict abortions⁹. That would affect anyone seeking abortion in those states but especially poor women and women of color. NPR's Yuki Noguchi joins us to explain why.

Good morning, Yuki.

YUKI NOGUCHI, BYLINE¹⁰: Good morning, Leila.

FADEL: So, Yuki, let's start with who this ruling will impact. Who gets abortions in the U.S.?

NOGUCHI: Yeah. Well, it's estimated about 1 in 4 women will get an abortion in their lifetime. More than half the people who access abortion are women in their 20s; also low-income people are more likely to get one. And race is a factor. Black and Latino women account for more than half of abortions, according to the most recent estimates. And the reason is the same as other racial disparities across health care - you know, less access to doctors and insurance or contraception and education. Plus, they face higher rates of poverty. And the ruling itself would disproportionately affect those communities also because many Southern states with large Black and Latino populations have bans that would be triggered by this ruling.

FADEL: And so what are people in those communities likely to do?

NOGUCHI: Well, they have a couple of options. I mean, for those who still need a clinic, they might have to travel further, you know, to states where abortion will still be legal. And that's pricey, right? - I mean, gas prices. But some may try to use abortion pills.

Laurie Bertram Roberts co-founded the Yellowhammer Fund in Tuscaloosa, Ala. And that group pays for travel or child care and logistics for people seeking abortions. And she says that's gotten more expensive and complicated. And this is something she knows firsthand. She wasn't able to get an abortion several years ago, even after doctors warned her she might die. She was already in financial straits with three kids and felt forced to carry the pregnancy¹¹ to term.

LAURIE BERTRAM ROBERTS: And we ended up homeless within a year.

NOGUCHI: And she sees a connection between abortion access and overall health.

ROBERTS: Mississippi and Alabama are both two states that have very high Black maternal¹² mortality rates and Black infant mortality rates. And what does forced birth look like for us?

NOGUCHI: So she says not having good health care and then not having the access to abortion is a vicious public health cycle.

FADEL: So it becomes an equity¹³ issue. If you have money, you get to a somewhere with access; if you don't, you can't. Now, you mentioned abortion pills as an alternative. Those weren't around when Roe was decided¹⁴.

NOGUCHI: Exactly.

FADEL: What about that?

NOGUCHI: Yeah. And that's a major difference. Those pills, whether through a clinic or self-managed at home, now make up a majority of abortions. But many people can't take them. You know, maybe they have a blood disorder¹⁵ or are later in pregnancy and find out about a fetal abnormality then.

And Terri-Ann Thompson says telehealth isn't an option for everyone. She's at the research group Ibis Reproductive Health.

TERRI-ANN THOMPSON: At present, there are 19 states that actually banned telehealth for medication abortion care. And 11 of those states are actually consider part of the South. That's states where Black and Latinx communities are highly represented. Then there really is no access available to those populations.

NOGUCHI: You know, as a practical matter, it may still be possible to get access to these pills, you know, through the mail or something. But that is definitely the next, you know, frontier of this battle. Specifically, the question will be, will women who use them or use other means of terminating a pregnancy be prosecuted¹⁶?

FADEL: And that's happened, right?

NOGUCHI: Yeah. Just last month, a Latina woman was detained for an alleged¹⁷ self-induced abortion in Texas, which, as you know, passed new abortion restrictions last September. Zaena Zamora lives there and runs the Frontera Fund, which helps fund abortion access for people. And she says that case had a huge chilling effect.

ZAENA ZAMORA: When you see someone in your community who got arrested because of their pregnancy outcome, it does create a lot of fear and anxiety and uncertainty¹⁸ and a lot of misinformation that gets spread out throughout communities.

NOGUCHI: So Zamora says people will have to travel further to places like Minnesota or Colorado to seek abortions. But, you know, many people, like I said, won't be able to afford that.

FADEL: NPR's Yuki Noguchi - thank you so much for your reporting, Yuki.

NOGUCHI: Thank you.

1 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。

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 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？

4 versus   

prep.以…为对手，对；与…相比之下

参考例句：

• The big match tonight is England versus Spain.今晚的大赛是英格兰对西班牙。
• The most exciting game was Harvard versus Yale.最富紧张刺激的球赛是哈佛队对耶鲁队。

5 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。

6 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。

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 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。

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 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。

11 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。

12 maternal   

adj.母亲的，母亲般的，母系的，母方的

参考例句：

• He is my maternal uncle.他是我舅舅。
• The sight of the hopeless little boy aroused her maternal instincts.那个绝望的小男孩的模样唤起了她的母性。

13 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

14 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。

15 disorder   

n.紊乱，混乱；骚动，骚乱；疾病，失调

参考例句：

• When returning back,he discovered the room to be in disorder.回家后，他发现屋子里乱七八糟。
• It contained a vast number of letters in great disorder.里面七零八落地装着许多信件。

16 prosecuted   

a.被起诉的

参考例句：

• The editors are being prosecuted for obscenity. 编辑因刊载污秽文字而被起诉。
• The company was prosecuted for breaching the Health and Safety Act. 这家公司被控违反《卫生安全条例》。

17 alleged   

a.被指控的，嫌疑的

参考例句：

• It was alleged that he had taken bribes while in office. 他被指称在任时收受贿赂。
• alleged irregularities in the election campaign 被指称竞选运动中的不正当行为

18 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。