美国国家公共电台 NPR--Missouri's GOP aims to amend the state's constitution so there's no right to abortion

Missouri's GOP aims to amend¹ the state's constitution so there's no right to abortion²

Transcript³

It's the hectic⁴ final few days of the Missouri legislative⁵ session and abortion is one issue on everyone's mind. Republican lawmakers want to fortify⁶ restrictions⁷, making some voters very concerned.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Tomorrow is the last day of the legislative session in Missouri. And in that narrow window, Republican lawmakers are pushing to further restrict abortion. Here's Jason Rosenbaum of St. Louis Public Radio.

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JASON ROSENBAUM, BYLINE⁹: In the last week of Missouri's 2022 session, lawmakers, staffers, lobbyists and curious schoolchildren are roaming around the Capitol at a frenetic pace, trying to soak in the final moments of legislative activity for the year. But State Representative Mary Elizabeth Coleman's thoughts right now aren't just on the end of a busy session. The Republican lawmaker is thinking a lot about how to protect the trigger law she helped pass in 2019.

MARY ELIZABETH COLEMAN: My sister is eight years younger than me, and I remember my mom got an ultrasound and seeing the picture of the ultrasound of my little sister and how precious she is to me. And it is, in my opinion and so many others, the civil rights issue of our nation right now.

ROSENBAUM: That trigger law is getting a lot of attention now because of a leaked draft of a Supreme¹⁰ Court decision overturning Roe¹¹ vs. Wade¹². Coleman and other Republicans are cautious the draft may not be final, but if it is, Missouri would ban abortions¹³ with very few exceptions. Sam Lee wants to help Republicans go further by putting a measure before voters. The longtime advocate for abortion restrictions says a state constitutional amendment¹⁴ would protect the 2019 trigger law.

SAM LEE: So we want to amend our Constitution, make it abortion-neutral so that there's no right to abortion found in the Constitution and no right for funding of abortion found in the Constitution.

ROSENBAUM: Missourians may very well approve that idea. Over the years, voters have elected candidates from both parties who oppose abortion rights, but some feel that Missouri has gone too far on abortion restrictions. The trigger law was controversial because there were no exceptions for people who became pregnant because of rape¹⁵ or incest. Backers of the law, including Senator Andrew Koenig, defended that decision in 2019 like this.

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ANDREW KOENIG: Rape and incest are horrific acts. You can't go far enough on the punishment on the people that do these acts. They're just completely horrific. We shouldn't do another bad act because one bad act happened.

ROSENBAUM: Taylor Hirth, though, believes the trigger law is completely unacceptable. She was raped¹⁶ in her apartment in 2016.

TAYLOR HIRTH: The emotional toll¹⁷ that that experience took on me, and then to compound that with a potential pregnancy¹⁸ would have just broken me.

ROSENBAUM: Hirth is now an advocate for survivors¹⁹ of sexual violence. She says the possibility of Roe vs. Wade being overturned is motivating her about the November election.

HIRTH: You know, we've got people planning marches, and I'm like, I'm so sick of marching. I'm done marching. You know, all I can do is vote, and I absolutely will be voting for people who are very vocally²⁰ pro-choice and who are not afraid to make that a rally cry.

ROSENBAUM: The Missouri legislature is overwhelmingly Republican, so it would take a long time to elect enough Democrats²² here to roll back abortion restrictions, but there's a U.S. Senate race in Missouri this year. And if a Democrat²¹ wins, it could help toward passing a federal law guaranteeing the right to an abortion everywhere. While Republicans are skeptical²³ they will lose that race, a Democrat did win campaigning on abortion rights ten years ago.

CLAIRE MCCASKILL: When I try to tell people what the law is going to be in Missouri, in about 10 minutes, most of them don't believe me.

ROSENBAUM: Claire McCaskill won a landslide²⁴ victory in 2012 after Republican Todd Akin⁸ said that women who are, quote, "legitimately²⁵ raped" could shut down their pregnancies²⁶. She says it's notable that GOP leaders tried to get Akin to drop out in 2012, but now Republicans running for Senate this year embrace the state's trigger law.

MCCASKILL: It's startling. It's stunning²⁷ how extreme the party has become and how far they're willing to go to marginalize women in the state.

ROSENBAUM: McCaskill contends that the pending²⁸ Supreme Court decision could prompt Missourians to pay more attention to elections for Missouri's House and Senate, especially since they'll determine the future of abortion access if Roe vs. Wade falls. For NPR News, I'm Jason Rosenbaum in Jefferson City.

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1 amend   

vt.修改，修订，改进；n.[pl.]赔罪，赔偿

参考例句：

• The teacher advised him to amend his way of living.老师劝他改变生活方式。
• You must amend your pronunciation.你必须改正你的发音。

2 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。

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 hectic   

adj.肺病的；消耗热的；发热的；闹哄哄的

参考例句：

• I spent a very hectic Sunday.我度过了一个忙乱的星期天。
• The two days we spent there were enjoyable but hectic.我们在那里度过的两天愉快但闹哄哄的。

5 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。

6 fortify   

v.强化防御，为…设防；加强，强化

参考例句：

• This country will fortify the coastal areas.该国将加强沿海地区的防御。
• This treaty forbade the United States to fortify the canal.此条约禁止美国对运河设防。

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 akin   

adj.同族的，类似的

参考例句：

• She painted flowers and birds pictures akin to those of earlier feminine painters.她画一些同早期女画家类似的花鸟画。
• Listening to his life story is akin to reading a good adventure novel.听他的人生故事犹如阅读一本精彩的冒险小说。

9 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。

10 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。

11 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？

12 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。

13 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

14 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。

15 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。

16 raped   

v.以暴力夺取，强夺( rape的过去式和过去分词 )；强奸

参考例句：

• A young woman was brutally raped in her own home. 一名年轻女子在自己家中惨遭强暴。 来自辞典例句
• We got stick together, or we will be having our women raped. 我们得团结一致，不然我们的妻女就会遭到蹂躏。 来自辞典例句

17 toll   

n.过路(桥)费；损失，伤亡人数；v.敲(钟)

参考例句：

• The hailstone took a heavy toll of the crops in our village last night.昨晚那场冰雹损坏了我们村的庄稼。
• The war took a heavy toll of human life.这次战争夺去了许多人的生命。

18 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。

19 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

20 vocally   

adv. 用声音, 用口头, 藉著声音

参考例句：

• She is not SCREAMER or MOANER - She is VOCALLY APPRECIATIVE. 她并不乱叫或发牢骚，只是用声音表示喜怒。
• The left has been vocally against. 左派力量一直竭力声讨。

21 democrat   

n.民主主义者，民主人士；民主党党员

参考例句：

• The Democrat and the Public criticized each other.民主党人和共和党人互相攻击。
• About two years later,he was defeated by Democrat Jimmy Carter.大约两年后，他被民主党人杰米卡特击败。

22 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 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。

24 landslide   

n.(竞选中)压倒多数的选票；一面倒的胜利

参考例句：

• Our candidate is predicated to win by a landslide.我们的候选人被预言将以绝对优势取胜。
• An electoral landslide put the Labour Party into power in 1945.1945年工党以压倒多数的胜利当选执政。

25 legitimately   

ad.合法地；正当地，合理地

参考例句：

• The radio is legitimately owned by the company. 该电台为这家公司所合法拥有。
• She looked for nothing save what might come legitimately and without the appearance of special favour. 她要的并不是男人们的额外恩赐，而是合法正当地得到的工作。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

26 pregnancies   

怀孕，妊娠( pregnancy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Since the wartime population needed replenishment, pregnancies were a good sign. 最后一桩倒不失为好现象，战时人口正该补充。
• She's had three pregnancies in four years. 她在四年中怀孕叁次。

27 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

28 pending   

prep.直到，等待…期间；adj.待定的；迫近的

参考例句：

• The lawsuit is still pending in the state court.这案子仍在州法庭等待定夺。
• He knew my examination was pending.他知道我就要考试了。