美国国家公共电台 NPR--The complicated state of abortion access in Italy

The complicated state of abortion¹ access in Italy

Transcript²

Abortion has been legal in Italy for more than 40 years. But most doctors refuse to perform them, making it difficult to find a provider. As in America, women in Italy fear this right will go away.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

An expected Supreme³ Court ruling on Roe⁴ v. Wade⁵ has many Americans comparing U.S. abortion laws to other countries. Abortion in Italy has been legal for more than 40 years. It was allowed after a hard fight in a heavily Catholic country. Adam Raney reports from Rome that the fight isn't over.

ADAM RANEY, BYLINE⁶: Abortion is available for free in Italy in the first 90 days of pregnancy⁷, with a seven-day waiting period. After the first trimester, abortions⁸ are only allowed if there's a risk to the mother's health or if there are fetal anomalies. But while it's legal, actually getting the procedure can be difficult.

GIOVANNA GERARDI: (Through interpreter) Abortion access is always difficult because there are too few doctors who perform them.

RANEY: That's Dr. Giovanna Gerardi. She's one of only two abortion providers in Italy's Molise region. Once her colleague retires later this year, she'll be the only one. That's because Molise in Italy's south has the highest percentage of so-called conscientious⁹ objectors, doctors who refuse to provide abortions. The Ministry¹⁰ of Health says fewer than 8% of gynecologists there will perform them.

GERARDI: (Through interpreter) The new generation of doctors, they're all conscientious objectors. Pretty soon, there won't be any doctors who do abortions.

RANEY: Molise is an extreme example. But across Italy, a traditionally Catholic country, more than two-thirds of gynecologists object to performing abortions. And that number is growing, according to the health ministry.

SILVANA AGATONE: (Through interpreter) There is a stigma¹¹ in Italy for those who perform abortions.

RANEY: That's Silvana Agatone, president and founder¹² of LAIGA, an association for abortion providers. She says many of Italy's most prestigious¹³ medical schools and hospitals are run by the Catholic Church.

AGATONE: (Through interpreter) They put their men in OB-GYN departments even in non-religious hospitals. The new generation gets a sense that it is better for their careers to be objectors.

RANEY: But gynecologist Niccolo Giovannini (ph) says career advancement¹⁴ has nothing to do with his decision.

NICCOLO GIOVANNINI: Doing the abortive¹⁵ act, it's like going against my ethics¹⁶.

RANEY: Giovannini supports a woman's right to choose but can't see himself playing any role in that process.

GIOVANNINI: I don't want to be the destroyer of life. From me, life is sacred.

RANEY: With an overwhelming majority of doctors refusing to perform abortions. Many women spend weeks trying to find appointments. And some have to make long trips to other regions of the country. Tiziana Antonucci (ph) organizes a weekly abortion clinic in a small, central Italian hospital, otherwise staffed mainly by doctors who are conscientious objectors. Antonucci says both abortion providers and patients travel to meet there.

TIZIANA ANTONUCCI: (Through interpreter) We have women who travel from far away who couldn't find a spot in a local hospital. As time goes by, it changes a woman's situation from a medical point of view and, above all, from a psychological standpoint. It is hard on them to make them wait.

CARMEN: (Non-English language spoken).

RANEY: Carmen (ph) travelled two hours to Antonucci's clinic rather than wait weeks for an appointment at her local hospital. Carmen, who asked us not to use her last name, had an abortion earlier this month.

CARMEN: (Through interpreter) It makes you angry. I understand why a lot of women have to carry on with their pregnancies¹⁷. It's not easy to get out of a situation when you come up against such big obstacles. The challenges are so hard to overcome.

RANEY: But Senator Lucio Malan from the right-wing Brothers of Italy party scoffs¹⁸ at the suggestion that having to travel for an abortion - or an interruption in a pregnancy, as he puts it - is an obstacle.

LUCIO MALAN: If a woman says, I would interrupt my pregnancy, but since I have to travel to Milan, I will not - so that means that she's not very persuaded to interrupt that pregnancy.

RANEY: It's comments like those that make some fearful Malan's party, currently leading in Italian polls, could restrict, if not outright¹⁹ ban, abortion if they gain power next year. Back in Molise, Dr. Gerardi, who at 60 will soon be the lone²⁰ provider in her region, says even with abortion legal, it's hard enough for doctors like her.

GERARDI: (Through interpreter) We perform a little less than 300 abortions a year. One doctor working very hard, never taking a day off can do it. The problem is if you get sick or need to take a vacation, because you can't expect someone to be imprisoned²¹ inside, day after day, doing this job.

RANEY: Since November, Molise's public health agency has been looking to fill two openings for gynecologists willing to perform abortions. So far, Doctor Gerardi says, no one has applied²².

For NPR News, I'm Adam Raney in Rome.

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 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 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。

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 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。

7 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。

8 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

9 conscientious   

adj.审慎正直的，认真的，本着良心的

参考例句：

• He is a conscientious man and knows his job.他很认真负责，也很懂行。
• He is very conscientious in the performance of his duties.他非常认真地履行职责。

10 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

11 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

12 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

13 prestigious   

adj.有威望的，有声望的，受尊敬的

参考例句：

• The young man graduated from a prestigious university.这个年轻人毕业于一所名牌大学。
• You may even join a prestigious magazine as a contributing editor.甚至可能会加入一个知名杂志做编辑。

14 advancement   

n.前进，促进，提升

参考例句：

• His new contribution to the advancement of physiology was well appreciated.他对生理学发展的新贡献获得高度赞赏。
• The aim of a university should be the advancement of learning.大学的目标应是促进学术。

15 abortive   

adj.不成功的，发育不全的

参考例句：

• We had to abandon our abortive attempts.我们的尝试没有成功，不得不放弃。
• Somehow the whole abortive affair got into the FBI files.这件早已夭折的案子不知怎么就进了联邦调查局的档案。

16 ethics   

n.伦理学；伦理观，道德标准

参考例句：

• The ethics of his profession don't permit him to do that.他的职业道德不允许他那样做。
• Personal ethics and professional ethics sometimes conflict.个人道德和职业道德有时会相互抵触。

17 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。

18 scoffs   

嘲笑，嘲弄( scoff的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• [ Scoffs ] Why should a young girl like that love an old fart like me? 为什么一个那样的年轻女孩应该喜欢我这样的老家伙？
• The noise of the moment scoffs at the music of the Eternal. 瞬刻的喧声，讥笑着永恒的音乐。

19 outright   

adv.坦率地；彻底地；立即；adj.无疑的；彻底的

参考例句：

• If you have a complaint you should tell me outright.如果你有不满意的事，你应该直率地对我说。
• You should persuade her to marry you outright.你应该彻底劝服她嫁给你。

20 lone   

adj.孤寂的，单独的；唯一的

参考例句：

• A lone sea gull flew across the sky.一只孤独的海鸥在空中飞过。
• She could see a lone figure on the deserted beach.她在空旷的海滩上能看到一个孤独的身影。

21 imprisoned   

下狱，监禁( imprison的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• He was imprisoned for two concurrent terms of 30 months and 18 months. 他被判处30个月和18个月的监禁，合并执行。
• They were imprisoned for possession of drugs. 他们因拥有毒品而被监禁。

22 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。