美国国家公共电台 NPR--What are Biden's options if the Supreme Court throws out the right to abortion?

What are Biden's options if the Supreme¹ Court throws out the right to abortion²?

Transcript³

A leaked draft of a Supreme Court opinion suggests the court may soon overturn Roe⁴ v. Wade⁵. An attempt by Congress to preserve the right to abortions⁶ legislatively⁷ failed because of a lack of votes.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Legislation to enshrine the right to an abortion in law failed in the U.S. Senate yesterday. The bill couldn't overcome a filibuster⁸ and didn't even have the support of every single Democrat⁹. For those who support abortion access, this vote took on added urgency after the leak last week of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would overturn Roe vs. Wade. Vice¹⁰ President Kamala Harris spoke¹¹ to reporters just after the failed vote.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

VICE PRESIDENT KAMALA HARRIS: This vote clearly suggests that the Senate is not where the majority of Americans are on this issue. A priority should be to elect pro-choice leaders at the local, the state and the federal level.

MART?NEZ: Attention now turns to the executive branch and what the president and his administration might be able to do, if anything. NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith has been looking into all of this. Tam, so what sort of political pressure is the White House facing?

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE¹²: Abortion rights advocates are encouraging the administration to do whatever it can to make it easier for people to get abortion services. And advocates I've spoken to also want the president to use his bully¹³ pulpit to raise alarms about the consequences of overturning Roe and what options remain if it falls. But there's also an acknowledgement that, if this draft opinion becomes final, it's not like the president can sign an executive order and just bring Roe back. As Morgan Hopkins, interim¹⁴ executive director of the abortion rights group All* Above All, put it to me, they want the administration to get creative and try actions even if they aren't guaranteed to hold up in court.

MORGAN HOPKINS: We've seen in the pandemic what is possible and what the federal government can do in a public health crisis, and we want to see that same kind of energy for people who are going to need abortion care.

MART?NEZ: All right. So what's the White House considering?

KEITH: Jen Psaki, the press secretary, said that the president has been in meetings with people from across the government, working through possibilities.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

JEN PSAKI: Having the Gender¹⁵ Policy Council, our Counsel's Office and the Department of Health and Human Services come up with options and proposals for what we would do were this opinion issued to be final or a version of it to be final. So those are ongoing¹⁶ internal meetings.

KEITH: Psaki said the goal is making sure those who become pregnant in states that severely¹⁷ restrict or ban abortions are still able to get access to these services. But she really didn't get into specifics, and a White House official told me some of the ideas being floated by advocates aren't even being considered by the White House. So with that big grain of salt, some outside the administration I've spoken to say Medicaid could provide funding to patients to travel from states that don't allow abortions to states that do. The federal government could also potentially provide grants to states that still allow abortions to help them deal with an expected influx¹⁸ of patients. But these ideas aren't a sure thing because, in every federal budget, there is a rule added known as the Hyde Amendment¹⁹ that prevents federal funds from being spent on abortion services.

MART?NEZ: So then is there anything else that's being discussed?

KEITH: Well, the FDA has already changed its rules to allow abortion pills to be prescribed through telemedicine appointments, which could help with access issues. Lawrence Gostin, professor of global health at Georgetown University, says that some states are already moving to ban medication abortions, but the Justice Department could try to step in.

LAWRENCE GOSTIN: To challenge any states that ban medication abortions because it's preempted²⁰ by the Food and Drug Administration - and you shouldn't have 50 states with different rules about access to any medication, including abortion medications.

MART?NEZ: All right. So the options sound limited, Tamara. So why is the White House, then, under so much pressure to do something?

KEITH: Plain and simple, this is an issue that matters to a lot of Democratic voters. Just like that failed Senate vote yesterday, Democratic politicians have to demonstrate that they are doing everything they can, even, as Gostin said, the options are just very limited and amount to nibbling²¹ around the edges.

MART?NEZ: NPR White House correspondent Tamara Keith. Tam, thanks a lot.

KEITH: You're welcome.

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 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 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？

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 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

7 legislatively   

adv.立法地

参考例句：

• Indeed, experience with the legislatively imposed hybrid procedures has not been encouraging. 的确，立法规定的混合型程序的经历并不令人感到鼓舞。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法
• The criminal pattern kidnapping and killing the kidnapped person is contained and aggravated crime legislatively. 从犯罪形态来看，“杀害被绑架人”的立法属于包容加重犯。 来自互联网

8 filibuster   

n.妨碍议事，阻挠；v.阻挠

参考例句：

• A senator dragged the subject in as a filibuster.一个参议员硬把这个题目拉扯进来，作为一种阻碍议事的手法。
• The democrats organized a filibuster in the senate.民主党党员在参议院上组织了阻挠议事。

9 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。

10 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

11 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。

12 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。

13 bully   

n.恃强欺弱者，小流氓；vt.威胁，欺侮

参考例句：

• A bully is always a coward.暴汉常是懦夫。
• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。

14 interim   

adj.暂时的，临时的；n.间歇，过渡期间

参考例句：

• The government is taking interim measures to help those in immediate need.政府正在采取临时措施帮助那些有立即需要的人。
• It may turn out to be an interim technology.这可能只是个过渡技术。

15 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

16 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

17 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

18 influx   

n.流入，注入

参考例句：

• The country simply cannot absorb this influx of refugees.这个国家实在不能接纳这么多涌入的难民。
• Textile workers favoured protection because they feared an influx of cheap cloth.纺织工人拥护贸易保护措施，因为他们担心涌入廉价纺织品。

19 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。

20 preempted   

v.先占( preempt的过去式和过去分词 )；取代；先取；先发制人

参考例句：

• A special news program preempted the scheduled shows. 特别的新节目取代预定计划的表演。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The armymen have preempted the powers of the local government. 军人已夺取了地方政府的权力。 来自互联网

21 nibbling   

v.啃，一点一点地咬（吃）( nibble的现在分词 )；啃出（洞），一点一点咬出（洞）；慢慢减少；小口咬

参考例句：

• We sat drinking wine and nibbling olives. 我们坐在那儿，喝着葡萄酒嚼着橄榄。
• He was nibbling on the apple. 他在啃苹果。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》