美国国家公共电台 NPR--Wyoming's new ban on abortions has been temporarily blocked

Wyoming's new ban on abortions² has been temporarily blocked

Transcript³

That means the one clinic in the state that provides abortion¹ care can continue to do so for at least another week — until the judge hears the challenge from reproductive rights advocates.

A MARTINEZ, HOST:

The state judge has put a temporary hold on Wyoming's new law banning most abortions. That means the one clinic in the state that provides abortion care can continue to do so for at least another week until a judge hears the challenge from reproductive rights advocates. Will Walkey from the Mountain West News Bureau reports.

WILL WALKEY, BYLINE⁴: Like several states, Wyoming earlier this year passed a law to ban most abortions if the U.S. Supreme⁵ Court overturned federal privacy protections. When that happened in June, the president of Wyoming Right to Life, Marti Halverson, called it a great day for her movement.

MARTI HALVERSON: We just couldn't contain ourselves. We were exuberant⁶. Computers were smoking with emails and posts on social media. We were just exuberant.

WALKEY: The mood was different at the only clinic currently performing abortions in Wyoming in the small and remote resort town of Jackson. Dr. Giovannina Anthony, an OB-GYN here, says they started getting panicked phone calls soon after Governor Mark Gordon signed the new state ban into law.

GIOVANNINA ANTHONY: Can you imagine, you have an abortion scheduled and you have no idea now that you've heard the news that it's illegal, am I going to be able to get this procedure? What can I do? What can I do?

WALKEY: The law allows abortions if the mother's life or health are at risk and in cases of incest or rape⁷. But Anthony says there's a lot of gray area. Verifying if someone has been sexually assaulted is hard, and the burden of proof is on the patient. If she can't, she faces up to 14 years in prison.

ANTHONY: I am not an investigator⁸ of a crime. And I would feel that in order to preserve my practice and my ability to care for other people, I would have to refer that person elsewhere.

WALKEY: Anthony is now one of six plaintiffs arguing that Wyoming's ban violates the state constitution. University of Wyoming law professor Ken⁹ Chestek says it specifically protects people's rights to make their own health care decisions.

KEN CHESTEK: Reproductive freedom is very - clearly, in my mind, it's a health care choice. I can't think of anything else that it could be considered.

WALKEY: Wyoming District Court Judge Melissa Owens found that argument compelling enough to delay enforcement of the ban and scheduled a hearing for August 9. If she rules against Wyoming's new law, abortion opponents could try to amend¹⁰ the state constitution. Wyoming's legislature is conservative and anti-abortion, but the process could still take years. Abortion opponents like Wyoming Right to Life's Marti Halverson say they'll continue to push for restrictions¹¹ on abortion.

HALVERSON: You can throw all the what-ifs at me that you want. But our position is it is never necessary.

WALKEY: Her group is currently pushing for Wyoming to also ban two common drugs used for abortion in telehealth services and eliminate the current law's exceptions for rape and incest.

HALVERSON: We're not trying to force our beliefs on anybody else. We're just glad the mood is trending the way it is in this state and many other states.

WALKEY: Even if Wyoming's abortion ban is struck down, it's still challenging and expensive to get an abortion here. And if the clinic in Jackson closes, the nearest providers would be in Montana or Colorado, hours away by car. The four other states neighboring Wyoming have all either banned or severely¹² restricted abortion access. Lawsuits¹³ against the bans in Idaho and Utah are currently pending¹⁴. Julie Burkhart is trying to open a new abortion care clinic in Casper, Wyoming's biggest city in the center of the state. But in June, an arsonist¹⁵ torched the building.

JULIE BURKHART: It was devastating¹⁶ that someone would break in to a business that has legal standing¹⁷ and would set it on fire.

WALKEY: No one has been arrested. Burkhart still plans to open the Casper clinic in the next four to six months, but it's unclear whether abortion will still be legal then.

For NPR News, I'm Will Walkey in Jackson, Wyo.

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 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

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 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。

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 exuberant   

adj.充满活力的；（植物）繁茂的

参考例句：

• Hothouse plants do not possess exuberant vitality.在温室里培养出来的东西，不会有强大的生命力。
• All those mother trees in the garden are exuberant.果园里的那些母树都长得十分茂盛。

7 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。

8 investigator   

n.研究者，调查者，审查者

参考例句：

• He was a special investigator for the FBI.他是联邦调查局的特别调查员。
• The investigator was able to deduce the crime and find the criminal.调查者能够推出犯罪过程并锁定罪犯。

9 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

10 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。

11 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

12 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。

13 lawsuits   

n.诉讼( lawsuit的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Lawsuits involving property rights and farming and grazing rights increased markedly. 涉及财产权，耕作与放牧权的诉讼案件显著地增加。 来自辞典例句
• I've lost and won more lawsuits than any man in England. 全英国的人算我官司打得最多，赢的也多，输的也多。 来自辞典例句

14 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。

15 arsonist   

n.纵火犯

参考例句：

• You're pretty sure you can identify a single arsonist?你确信你能鉴别出一个特定的纵火者？
• The arsonist confessed that he set fire to six businesses.那纵火犯承认他给6家商场纵过火。

16 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。

17 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。